UC-NRLF. 


1 


LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Deceived         JAN     4     1893  ,  189 

^Accessions  No.  HQ% //  5T .. .  Class  No. 


A  TREATISE 


ON 


PEDAGOGY 


FOR  YOUNG  TEACHERS 


BY 

EDWIN    C.  HEWETT,   LL.D. 
it 

President  of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University 


NEW-YORK     •:•     CINCINNATI     •:•     CHICAGO 

AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY 

FROM    THE    PRESS   OF 
VAN  ANTWERP,  BRAGG,  &  CO. 


: 


. 


COPYRIGHT 

1884 
BY  VAN  ANTWERP,   BRAGG  &  Co. 


^clectic  Jjress: 

VAN    ANTWERP,    BRAGG   *    CO. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  little  book  is  a  growth.  Into  that  growth,  several 
elements  have  entered:  among  them  are  the  author's  experi- 
ence as  a  pupil,  first  in  the  country  district  schools  of  New 
England ;  and  his  experience,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  as  a 
teacher ;  together  with  the  digested  results  of  his  reading  and- 
thinking  on  educational  themes.  He  has  here  embodied  the 
sVbstance  of  his  instruction  to  many  successive  classes  in 
Normal  Schools,  and  the  substance  of  numerous  addresses 
before  Teachers'  Institutes  and  other  educational  meetings. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  amplify  any  of  the  topics 
treated ;  on  the  contrary,  a  constant  and  persistent  effort  has 
been  made  to  condense  to  the  utmost  limit  consistent  with 
clearness. 

This  is  not  a  book  of  methods,  although  a  few  methods  will 
be  found  in  it.  Its  aim  is,  rather,  to  present,  in  a  brief  and 
compact  form,  such  principles  as  underlie  and  give  form  to  all 
methods  worthy  of  attention. 

As  the  title  implies,  the  book  has  been  written  with  special 
regard  to  the  needs  of  young  teachers,  or  of  candidates  for 
the  teacher's  office.  But  the  author  does  not  expect  that  such 
young  persons  will  be  able  to  master  the  book  by  a  cursory 
reading ;  he  does,  however,  flatter  himself  that  young  persons 
of  good  ability  will  be  able  to  master  the  book  thoroughly  by 
careful  and  patient  study. 

Psychology  is  made  the  basis  of  the  treatise ;  the  author 
believes  that  in  no  other  way  can  the  subject  be  treated  in  a 
rational  or  scientific  manner.  Nothing  in  the  present  trend 

(iii) 


iv  Preface. 


of  educational  thought  is  more  marked  than  the  growing 
desire  to  found  all  systems  and  methods  of  educational  train- 
ing on  the  principles  revealed  by  a  thorough  inductive  study 
of  human  nature. 

Complete  "Schemes"  have  been  introduced,  because  the 
author  has  found  that  they  were  very  helpful  to  his  own 
students  in  their  efforts  to  grasp  and  retain  these  subjects  in 
an  orderly  and  methodical  way.  If  they  are  faithfully  used, 
he  believes  that  they  may  do  the  same  good  service  for  the 
reader  that  they  have  done  for  his  students  in  the  class- 
room. 

The  author  does  not  flatter  himself  that  every  reader  will 
yield  a  ready  assent  to  all  his  statements ;  but  he  has  given 
his  opinions  freely,  as  they  have  been  formed  in  the  light  of 
.  his  own  thinking  and  experience.  He  bespeaks  for  them  a 
candid  consideration,  and  an  acceptance,  if,  after  careful 
thought,  they  shall  seem  reasonable. 

Originality  is  by  no  means  claimed  for  all  that  is  here  pre- 
sented. The  author  has  freely  availed  himself  of  any  thing 
that  his  judgment  commended,  wherever  it  might  be  found. 
Yet,  he  has  rarely  expressed  himself  in  the  words  of  another. 

This  little  book  is  sent  forth  with  the  hope  that  it  may  be 
found  of  some  value  in  Normal  Schools,  Teachers'  Classes, 
and  Teachers'  Institutes,  as  well  as  in  the  private  reading  of 
teachers,  and,  it  may  be  added,  of  parents,  also.  If  it  shall 
contribute  something  to  improve  the  training  of  the  youth  of 
our  country,  and  to  bring  upon  the  stage  of  active  life  a  gen- 
eration better  fitted  to  enjoy  its  privileges  and  to  discharge  its 
duties  worthily,  the  author  will  be  fully  repaid  for  his  labor. 

EDWIN  C.  HEWETT. 


ILLINOIS  STATE  NORMAL  UNIVERSITY,  * 
NORMAL,  January  18,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

SCHEME          I.  —  General,       .... 

8 

CHAPTER        I.  —  General  Statement,     . 

9 

SCHEME        II,        .    *    

14 

CHAPTER      II.—  The  Intellect,      . 

15 

CHAPTER     III.  —  The  Intellect,  Concluded,  . 

21 

CHAPTER     IV.—  The  Sensibility,  Will,  Etc., 

30 

SCHEME       III,       

.            .              38 

CHAPTER       V.  —  What  is  Education?  . 

39 

SCHEME       IV,       ...... 

48 

CHAPTER     VI.  —  Training  the  Powers, 

49 

CHAPTER   VII.  —  Training,   Continued, 

57 

CHAPTER  VIII.  —  Training,   Concluded, 

.        .          67 

SCHEME        V,       

80 

CHAPTER     IX.  —  The  Teacher, 

81 

SCHEME       VI,        

.        .          96 

CHAPTER       X.  —  The  Teacher,   Continued,  . 

97 

CHAPTER     XI.  —  The  Teacher,   Concluded,  . 

107 

SCHEME     VII,        

116 

CHAPTER  XII.—  The  School, 

117 

SCHEME   VIII,        

128 

CHAPTER  XIII.—  The  School,   Concluded,     . 

129 

SCHEME       IX, 

140 

(v) 


vi  Contents. 


CHAPTER      XIV. — Management, 141 

CHAPTER       XV. — Management,   Concluded^       .        .  149 

SCHEME  X, 158 

CHAPTER     XVI. — Lessons, 159 

SCHEME          XI,     .        .        .        ...        .        .  168 

CHAPTER   XVII. — Lessons,  Concluded,        .        .        .  169 

SCHEME       XII, 180 

CHAPTER  XVII I. —Teaching  Particular  Subjects,         .  181 
CHAPTER     XIX. — Teaching  Particular  Subjects,  Con- 
cluded,        193 

SCHEME      XIII, 204 

CHAPTER      XX. — Miscellaneous,          ....  205 

INDEX, 221 


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(8) 


PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    STATEMENT. 

Pedagogy. — This  new  word,  Pedagogy*  means 
the  science  and  art  of  teaching ;  but  it  means  more 
than  that.  It  means  the  taking  of  young  children, 
and,  by  means  of  both  skillful  teaching  and  wise 
training,  leading  them  up  to  worthy  manhood  and 
womanhood. 


*  Among  families  of  rank,  in  ancient  Greece,  the  boys,  at  the  age  of 
six  or  seven,  were  committed  to  the  care  of  a  Pcedagogus.  The  word 
means  a  "boy-leader"  or  "child-leader."  Professor  Anthon  says: 
"They  remained  with  the  tutor  (pedagogue)  until  they  attained  the 
age  of  puberty.  His  duty  was  rather  to  guard  them  from  evil,  both 
physical  and  moral,  than  to  communicate  instruction,  to  cultivate  their 
minds,  or  to  impart  of  accomplishments.  He  went  with  them  to  and 
from  the  school  or  Gymnasium  ;  he  accompanied  them  out  of  doors  on 
all  occasions ;  he  was  responsible  for  their  personal  safety,  and  for  their 
avoidance  of  bad  company."  From  this  significance  of  the  word  ped- 
agogue, it  seems  proper  to  call  the  science  and  art  of  leading  youth  up 

to  a  worthy  manhood,  PEDAGOGY. 

(ix) 


io  Pedagogy. 


It  has  been  said  that  the  ability  to  do  this 
work  well  requires  knowledge  of  three  distinct 
kinds,  or  in  three  distinct  fields ;  namely,  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  being  who  is  to  be  taught  and  trained, 
a  knowledge  of  those  branches,  by  the  study  of 
which  his  mental  growth  is  to  be  promoted,  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  proper  methods  by  which  the 
matter  to  be  taught,  and  the  being  to  be  taught, 
shall  be  brought  into  the  most  healthful  and  fruitful 
relations  to  each  other. 

Man:  his  Nature  and  Powers. — It  is,  there- 
fore, proper  that  we  should  begin  our  work  by  a 
consideration  of  the  nature  and  powers  of  the  being 
that  we  propose  to  teach  and  train.  Man  is  curi- 
ously made  up  of  mind  and  matter,  so  wonderfully 
blended  that  no  one  can  tell  exactly  how  they  live 
and  work  together.  Of  the  real  nature  of  both 
mind  and  matter,  we  are  profoundly  ignorant.  No 
one  can  tell  what  either  is:  we  can  study  their 
phenomena  only. 

Man  has  a  body,  and  he  has  a  mind ;  he  has, 
also,  powers  that  belong  to  the  body,  and  others 
that  belong  to  the  mind.  Pedagogy  must  study 
the  laws  of  development  and  action,  relating  to 
both  classes  of  power. 

POWER  is  the  ability  to  do  something, 

For  the  sake  of  distinction,  we  may  call  the 
powers  that  pertain  to  the  body,  as  those  shown 
by  the  muscles,  material  powers;  and  we  may  call 


General  Statement.  1 1 

those  powers  that  pertain  especially  to  the  mind, 
as  the  power  to  remember,  the  power  to  love,  etc., 
immaterial  powers.  To  be  sure,  the  mind's  powers 
do  not  show  themselevs  wholly  independent  of  the 
body.  When  we  remember  or  love,  we  use  the 
brain ;  but  we  do  not  believe  that  the  changes  in 
the  brain  make  memory  or  love,  although  the  exer- 
cise of  these  powers  is  without  doubt  accompanied 
by  changes  in  the  brain.  We  do  not  believe  that 
4 'the  brain  secretes  thought  as  the  liver  secretes 
bile."  The  truth  seems  to  be  that,  in  some  way 
not  fully  understood,  the  mind  uses  the  brain  as  its 
instrument. 

Our  best  philosophers  teach  us  that  the  mind 
itself  is  one  indivisible  thing:  it  does  not  possess 
organs,  as  the  body  does,  nor  is  it  a  bundle  of 
powers ;  but  it  has  many  powers  which  it  can 
exercise  in  various  ways.  When  we  love,  it  is 
the  entire  mind  that  loves,  and  not  part  of  it, 
although  it  may  work  with  more  or  less  force  in 
the  act.  The  same  is  true  when  we  remember, 
when  we  will,  etc. 

Grand  Divisions  of  Mental  Power. — The 
powers  of  the  mind,  or  the  immaterial  powers  of 
man,  are  very  numerous ;  but  they  may  all  be 
arranged  in  three  classes.  This  is  the  teaching  of 
almost  all  of  the  modern  philosophers;  but,  for- 
merly, philosophers  divided  these  powers  into  two 
groups  instead  of  three. 

The  three  groups  of  immaterial  powers,  or  the 
powers  of  mind,  are : 


1 2  Pedagogy. 


ist,  Those  powers  by  which  we  know,  or  the 
Intellect. 

2d,  Those  by  which  we  feel,   or  the   Sensibility. 

3d,  The  power  by  which  we  choose  and  execute, 
or  the  Will. 

In  speaking  of  the  immaterial  powers  of  man  and  their 
phenomena,  we  are  obliged  to  borrow  most  of  our  terms  from 
the  body  and  its  phenomena.  This  is  somewhat  unfortunate, 
as  the  terms  thus  borrowed  are  likely  to  be  misunderstood. 
The  word  feel,  which  we  have  just  used,  is  an  example 
of  such  a  term.  When  one  speaks  of  feeling  sorrow,  he 
means  something  very  different  from  that  which  he  means 
when  he  speaks  of  feeling  the  table  with  his  finger.  In  the 
latter  case,  he  means  an  affection  of  the  mind  through  the 
nerves  of  the  body.  This  is  perception,  or  an  exercise  of  one 
of  the  knowing  powers.  In  the  former  case,  he  means  an 
affection  of  the  mind  independent  of  the  nerves,  as  when  he 
feels  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  a  friend.  This  is  an  exercise  of 
sensibility. 

The  action  of  the  three  grand  classes  of  mental 
powers  may  be  illustrated  in  the  following  way: 
You  take  up  a  newspaper,  and  read  of  the  floods 
in  the  lower  Mississippi  valley.  You  are  able  to 
understand  what  the  writer  says — to  think  his 
thoughts  after  him— and  his  thoughts  awaken  new 
thoughts  of  your  own.  Thus,  you  see  that  you 
have  the  power  to  know,  to  think, — or,  you  have 
Intellect.  As  you  read  of  the  sufferings  the  floods 
cause  the  people,  you  begin  to  pity  them  and  to 
desire  to  relieve  their  suffering.  ,You  thus  see  that 
you  have  the  power  to  feel, — or,  you  possess  Sen- 
sibility. You  learn  that  others  are  sending  money 


General  Statement.  13 

to  aid  these  poor  people ;  moved  by  your  feelings, 
you  determine  to  join  in  the  contribution.  Thus, 
you  see  that  you  have  the  power  to  choose,  to  de- 
termine,— or,  you  have  Will. 

Thus,  we  have  represented  the  three  grand 
classes  of  mental  powers ;  nor  is  there  any  mental 
faculty  that  can  not  be  properly  grouped  under  one 
of  these  three  classes.  Moreover,  these  classes  of 
mental  powers  always  act  in  the  order  here  given. 
It  is  inconceivable  that  we  should  have  feeling  in 
regard  to  any  matter  till  we  know  something  about 
it,  or  think  we  do.  Nor  do  we  ever  put  forth  any 
activity  of  the  will  till  we  are  prompted  to  it  by 
some  feeling. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  "  prodigal  son."  He 
"came  to  himself,"  and  thought;  he  felt,  in  respect  to  his 
wretched  condition  and  the  plenty  at  his  father's  house;  he 
then  resolved  to  arise  and  go  to  his  father. 

A  wise  writer,  or  orator,  or  teacher,  who  wants 
to  lead  men  up  to  a  resolution,  always  observes 
this  order.  He  strives  first  to  awaken  thought, — 
to  make  people  know  something  about  the  matter 
in  hand.  He  then  seeks  to  arouse  their  feelings 
in  view  of  what  they  know  and  think.  It  is  only 
after  both  these  results  are  reached  that  he  hopes 
to  bring  them  to  any  resolution,  or  choice,  or 
action,  respecting  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    INTELLECT. 

THE  group  of  knowing  powers,  or  the  Intellect, 
is  subdivided  into  four  groups,  viz.:  the  Presenta- 
tive  Powers,  the  Representative  Powers,  the  Re- 
flective Powers,  and  the  Intuitive  Power. 

The  presentative  povvers  give  us  knozvledge  of  the 
outside  world  through  the  senses. 

The  representative  powers  give  us  concepts  of  absent 
objects. 

The  reflective  powers  shoiv  us  the  relations  and  con- 
nections of  objects,  or  of  their  concepts. 

The  intuitive  poiver  is  the  power  by  which  we  know 
certain  fundamental  things  without  being  taught. 

The  word  "object"  must  not  be  confined  to  material 
things. 

The  Presentative  Powers. — The  Presentative 
Powers,  often  called  the  Perceptives,  seem  to  get 

their  name  in  this  way :  The  ancients  used  to  divide 

^b 

the  universe,  for  every  man,  into  the  Ego  and  the 
Non-ego ;  the  Ego  is  the  man  himself,  and  the  Non- 
ego  includes  everything  except  himself.  The  pre- 
sentative powers,  or  the  senses,  present,  as  it  were, 

d5) 


1 6  Pedagogy. 


the  things  of  the  Non-ego  to  the  Ego,  shut  up,  as 
he  seems  to  be,  somewhere  in  this  bodily  tene- 
ment,— they  are  a  kind  of  "  introduction  com- 
mittee. " 

The  senses  are  commonly  said  to  be  five  in  num- 
ber,— Feeling,  or  the  sense  of  touch;  Seeing, 
Hearing,  Tasting,  and  Smelling.  To  these,  some 
philosophers  add  a  sixth  sense,  which  they  call  the 
Sense  of  Resistance  to  muscular  effort. 

FEELING  is  the  most  general  of  all  the  senses,  as 
it  extends  over  the  whole  body,  wherever  the 
nerves  are  found.  There  is  some  propriety  in  say- 
ing that  the  other  senses  are  modifications  of  feel- 
ing, because  they  all  require  special  nerves  for 
their  action.  All  these  special  nerves  are  located 
in  the  head.  Two  of  the  senses,  seeing  and  hear- 
ing, in  addition  to  the  special  nerves,  also  require 
curiously  constructed  organs. 

Most  of  the  words  used  to  designate  the  powers  of  the 
mind  may  also  signify  the  acts  which  the  powers  perform; 
thus,  Feeling  may  mean  the  power  to  feel,  or  the  act  of  feel- 
ing. The  same  is  true  of  Memory,  Judgment,  etc.  When- 
ever we  use  one  of  these  words,  we  do  well  to  think  carefully 
whether  we  mean  by  it  the  power,  or  the  act  which  that  power 
is  able  to  perform. 

The  sense  of  feeling  makes  us  acquainted  with 
such  objects  only  as  are  close  to  us.  It  also  acts 
slowly,  from  the  parts  to  the  whole ;  this  is  illus- 
trated by  the  actions  of  a  blind  man  as  he  studies 
objects  that  he  handles.  We  all  act  in  a  similar 
way  when  we  grope  in  the  dark. 


The  Intellect.  17 


SEEING  is  very  different ;  it  shows  us  objects  that 
are  near,  or  very  distant,  and  it  acts  very  rapidly ; 
it  gives  us  notions  of  things  as  wholes  at  first,  and 
afterward  studies  their  parts.  The  special  nerves 
of  sight  are  called  the  optic  nerves.  But  sight  can 
not  act  when  light  is  absent,  nor  when  the  rays  are 
obstructed  by  opaque  objects. 

HEARING. — The  medium  through  which  we  hear 
must  always  be  present  where  life  is  possible,  for 
it  is  the  air  we  breathe ;  nor  do  intervening  objects 
wholly  prevent  our  hearing.  No  other  sense  affects 
the  emotions  so  quickly  or  so  deeply  as  hearing ; 
this  is  seen  in  the  effects  of  music,  or  of  the  tones 
of  the  voice.  The  auditory  nerve  is  the  special 
nerve  of  hearing. 

The  senses  we  have  considered  make  us  acquainted  with 
the  size,  shape,  position,  resonance,  etc.,  of  bodies ;  in  other 
words,  with  such  qualities  of  bodies  as  have  relation  to  space. 

TASTING  AND  SMELLING. — But  tasting  and  smell- 
ing, by  means  of  the  gustatory  and  olfactory 
nerves,  enable  us  to  learn  much  of  the  compo- 
sition and  condition  of  bodies.  We  judge  by 
these  senses  whether  substances  are  fit  to  be 
taken  into  our  organism  or  not.  Hence,  the 
special  nerves  for  these  senses  are  found  in  the 
mouth  and  nose,  the  gateways  to  the  stomach 
and  lungs. 

SENSE  OF  RESISTANCE. — When  you  allow  an 
object  merely  to  touch  your  hand,  you  simply  feel 
it;  but  when  you  let  it  rest  upon  your  hand,  and 

Fed.— 2. 


1 8  Pedagogy. 


put  forth  muscular  effort  to  sustain  it,  your  sense 
seems  to  give  you  something  besides  simple  feel- 
ing ;  you  have  a  sense  of  something  resisting  your 
muscular  effort.  This  is  why  philosphers  say  that 
there  is  a  sixth  sense;  and  they  say  that  no  other 
sense  makes  us  know  so  soon  and  so  certainly  that 
there  are  objects  outside  of  our  own  organism. 

Teachers  can  teach  young  children  a  great  many  truths 
about  the  "  five  senses,"  but  they  would  better  say  nothing 
to  them  about  the  sixth  sense.  Children  should  understand 
that  it  is  the  mind  that  acts  through  these  nerves  and  organs 
of  the  senses.  The  eye  does  not  see ;  but  the  mind  sees  by 
means  of  the  eye. 

Because  the  sense  of  resistance  to  muscular  effort  is  not 
regarded  by  all  as  a  separate  sense,  distinct  from  mere  feel- 
ing, we  have  placed  an  interrogation  mark  after  it  in  the 
scheme. 

The  Representative  Powers. — The  representa- 
tive powers  give  us  concepts  of  absent  objects  in 
two  ways;  viz.,  either  as  they  are  or  were,  or  as 
they  might  be.  When  the  concept  is  as  the  object 
was  or  is,  the  mental  act  is  reproduction.  If 
you  know  that  the  thing  reproduced  is  a  concept 
of  some  former  mental  possession,  you  recognize  it, 
or  know  it  again.  These  two  mental  acts — repro- 
duction and  recognition — make  up  the  act  of 
memory;  hence, 

MEMORY  is  that  representative  power  which  brings 
before  the  mind  concepts  of  absent  objects  as  they  are  or 
were,  and  recognizes  them.  , 


The  Intellect.  19 


Concepts  of  anything  the  mind  has  ever  pos- 
sessed,— sights,  sounds,  tastes,  thoughts,  feelings, 
former  concepts,  etc.,  may  thus  come  before  the 
mind  and  be  recognized,  for  memory  can  bring 
before  us  all  these  things. 

It  is  probable  that  a  very  large  share  of  the  concepts  that 
are  really  reproductions  are  not  recognized;  they  may  seem 
to  us  to  be  original ;  often  we  question  when  a  thing  "  comes 
into  the  mind,"  whether  it  is  something  that  we  remember, 
or  is  really  a  new  thing.  Not  long  since,  a  certain  eminent 
preacher  was  accused  of  plagiarism.  It  seemed  to  be  clear 
that  he  had  used  in  his  sermon  whole  sentences  just  as  they 
were  to  be  found  in  a  book,  which  he  admitted  he  had 
read.  His  defense  was  that  his  mind  had  great  tenacity  in 
retaining  words,  and  that  these  words  were  not  recognized 
when  they  were  reproduced.  Whatever  the  fact  may  have 
been,  his  defense  was  psychologically  a  plausible  one. 

IMAGINATION  is  that  representative  power  which 
gives  us  concepts  of  absent  objects,  not  as  they  are  or 
were,  but  as  they  might  be. 

Illustrations. — You  turn  your  face  towards  a 
church  and  notice  carefully  how  it  looks ;  you  are 
now  perceiving  it  by  sight.  You  turn  away,  and 
before  your  "mind's  eye"  stands  the  same  form  as 
clearly  as  before :  the  representative  power  has  re- 
produced a  concept  of  what  was  perceived.  You 
know  that  you  are  conceiving  of  the  building  as  it 
was,  so  you  recognize  the  concept, — you  remember 
the  building. 


2O  Pedagogy. 


You  now  begin  to  play  with  this  concept ;  you 
replace  the  brick  with  stone ;  you  give  it  extra 
towers ;  you  elevate  the  spire  to  twice  its  present 
height,  etc.  You  are  now  conceiving  of  the  absent 
cbject  as  it  might  be.  Imagination  is  at  work. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  INTELLECT. — Concluded. 

The  Reflective  Power  acts  in  several  ways; 
authors  do  not  agree  fully  in  respect  to  their  num- 
ber. We  may  safely  indicate  five  of  these  ways  of 
acting,  and  perhaps  the  list  will  not  be  exhausted. 
The  five  of  which  we  shall  speak  are :  Comparing, 
Abstracting,  Judging,  Generalizing,  and  Reasoning. 

By  some  authors,  the  Reflective  Power  is  called  the  Un- 
derstanding ;  by  others,  it  is  called  the  Elaborative  Faculty. 

Because  writers  on  Psychology  do  not  agree  as  to  the 
exact  number  of  forms  in  which  the  Reflective  Power  acts, 
we  have  placed  the  abbreviation  Etc.  after  our  list,  in  the 
Scheme. 

COMPARING. — As  the  Reflective  Power  deals  with 
the  relations  of  things,  or  of  the  concepts  of  things, 
rather  than  with  the  things  themselves,  it  will  be 
obvious  that  much  of  its  action  must  be  in  the 
form  of  comparison.  It  notes  the  relations  of  size, 
length,  position,  density,  value,  purpose,  cause  and 
effect,  agreement,  and  a  multitude  of  others. 

Comparison  is  clearly  involved  in  abstracting,  judging, 
generalizing,  reasoning,  etc.;  hence,  some  writers  regard  com- 
parison as  including  all  the  various  forms  of  the  Reflective 
Power. 

(21) 


2  2  Pedagogy. 


ABSTRACTING. — It  is  seen  that  the  process  of  ab- 
straction is  a  very  common  one,  when  we  observe 
the  large  number  of  abstract  terms  which  are  used 
even  by  children  and  uncultivated  people.  The 
process  of  abstraction  has  sometimes  been  illus- 
tratated  in  this  way :  you  look  at  several  objects  hav- 
ing a  common  color,  as  a  red  ribbon,  a  red  book,  a 
red  necktie,  etc.  You  note  their  color  in  connection 
with  the  other  qualities  of  those  objects.  You  now 
perceive  the  color  in  the  concrete.  You  turn  away, 
or  shut  your  eyes,  and  think  of  what  you  have  just 
seen;  you  now  conceive  the  color  in  the  concrete. 
Again,  you  drop  out  of  thought  all  the  other  qual- 
ities of  the  several  objects,  but  still  think  of  the 
color  in  connection  with  each  object ;  you  are  now 
conceiving  of  the  color  in  the  discrete.  Once  more, 
all  thought  of  the  objects  disappears,  and  you  think 
of  the  color  only,  apart  from  every  object  and  from 
all  other  qualities.  You  are  now  conceiving  of  red- 
ness  in  the  abstract, — that  is,  drawn  away  from  every 
thing  else.  It  is  probable  that  some  such  process 
as  this  is  often  gone  through  with  by  those  who 
have  no  thought  of  the  peculiar  form  of  mental 
activity  they  are  exercising. 

JUDGING. — In  judging,  the  mind  holds  before 
itself  two  concepts,  and  decides  that  they  agree  or 
disagree ;  these  concepts  may  be  simple  or  very 
complex.  You  bring  before  your  mind  a  concept  of 
the  thing  we  call  snow,  and  a  concept  of  the  quality 
whiteness ;  you  decide  that  these  agree,  and  you  say, 
"Snow  is  white."  You  bring  before  your  mind 


The  Intellect.  23 


a  concept  of  the  act  called  murder,  and  a  concept 
of  the  quality  tightness;  you  decide  that  they  do 
not  agree,  and  you  say,  "  Murder  is  not  right." 
Every  judgment,  then,  involves  two  concepts,  and 
the  decision  respecting  them. 

PROPOSITION.  —  The  expression  of  a  judgment  is  a 
proposition. 

This  definition  is  often  expressed  in  a  false  form  by  saying, 
"A  proposition  is  a  judgment  expressed."  In  objection  to 
this,  we  say  a  proposition  is  not  a  judgment  expressed  or  un- 
expressed ;  the  judgment  is  the  thing,  the  proposition  is  the 
expression  or  symbol  of  the  thing.  Here,  as  everywhere,  the 
teacher  can  not  afford  to  confound  a  thing  and  its  symboL 

As  a  judgment  involves  three  things,  so  a  proposition  must 
have  three  parts ;  these  we  call  subject,  attribute,  and  copula. 
The  subject  is  the  word  or  words  denoting  the  principal  con- 
cept ;  the  attribute  is  the  word  or  words  denoting  the  related 
concept ;  and  the  copula  is  the  word  or  words  expressing  the 
decision.  Both  copula  and  attribute  may  be  expressed  by  a 
single  word,  as  in  the  proposition,  Water  flows.  In  this  rela- 
tion of  judgment  and  proposition  is  the  foundation  of 
grammar. 

GENERALIZING. — In  generalizing,  the  mind  acts  in 
a  direction  the  reverse  of  that  in  abstracting; 
instead  of  taking  several  objects  and  drawing  from 
them  a  common  quality,  we  take  a  quality  and 
group  together  the  objects  that  possess  it.  A 
large  part  of  the  work  of  the  student  of  natural 
science  is  of  this  kind.  If  we  take  the  quality  of 
possessing  a  backbone,  we  may  group  together  all 
the  animals  that  have  this  quality,  and  call  them 


24  Pedagogy. 

vertebrates.  Of  course,  an  act  of  judgment  must 
precede  the  putting  of  every  object  into  its  class, 
or  the  rejection  of  it  from  a  class. 

The  common  quality  according  to  which  we  generalize 
may  be  obvious,  but  not  important,  as  in  the  formation  of 
the  group  of  animals  called  quadrupeds ;  in  such  a  case,  we 
have  merely  a  loose  classification.  In  true  generalization, 
or  scientific  classification,  we  arrange  the  objects  with  refer- 
ence to  some  important  or  fundamental  quality.  Should  a 
servant  girl  classify  a  library,  probably  she  would  do  it  very 
loosely,  putting  together  books  of  the  same  color,  or  size,  or 
condition ;  the  owner  would  classify  by  arranging  the  books 
according  to  their  contents, — putting  together  those  which 
treat  of  a  common  subject. 

REASONING. — We  can  not  enter  very  fully  into  the 
subject  of  Reasoning, — Logic  is  a  science  in  itself. 
In  a  process  of  systematic  reasoning,  we  compare 
two  related  propositions,  and  deduce  a  third  which 
necessarily  follows  from  the  comparison.  The  two 
given  propositions  are  called  premises ;  the  one  de- 
rived is  the  conclusion.  To  illustrate:  ist,  Four 
pencils  cost  four  times  as  much  as  one  pencil ;  2d, 
One  pencil  costs  three  cents;  hence,  3d,  Four  pen- 
cils cost  four  times  three  cents,  or  twelve  cents. 
Here  the  first  premise  states  a  general  truth  ;  the 
second  premise  states  a  contingent  truth,  and  the 
conclusion  inevitably  follows  from  the  premises. 
The  two  premises  and  the  conclusion  together 
make  up  a  syllogism.  A  process  of  reasoning  may 
make  clear  what  is  involved  in  the  premises,  but  it 
can  never  lead  to  the  discovery  of  any  thing  not 
contained  in  the  premises. 


The  Intellect.  25 


The  Intuitive  Power. — It  is  said  that  the  Intui- 
tive Power  acts  in  only  one  way,  but  its  products 
are  of  two  kinds.  By  this  power,  we  know  certain 
necessary,  self-evident  truths,  and  also  certain  fun- 
damental notions  or  ideas. 

Some  assert  that  we  get  all  our  knowledge,  of  every  sort, 
through  experience  and  reflection ;  they  claim  that  this  is  as 
true  in  regard  to  what  we  have  called  the  truths  and  ideas 
of  intuition  as  it  is  of  our  knowledge  of  the  qualities  of 
objects.  We  hold,  however,  that  observation  and  experience 
merely  furnish  an  occasion  for  this  kind  of  knowledge ;  they 
do  not  cause  us  to  have  it. 

TRUTHS. — Thus,  we  know  that  a  part  can  not 
equal  the  whole ;  we  know  that  the  same  thing  can 
not  be  in  two  places  at  the  same  time ;  we  know 
that  a  statement  can  not  be  both  true  and  not  true 
at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  sense.  All  such 
truths  every  sane  and  sound  mind  knows  at  once, 
as  soon  as  it  is  capable  of  comprehending  clearly 
what  is  said.  We  can  not  disbelieve  them,  if  we 
try.  No  attempt  at  proof  can  make  us  believe 
them  any  more  firmly.  In  fact,  no  proof  of  them 
is  possible ;  we  may  illustrate  such  truths,  but  we 
can  not  demonstrate  them.  Many  of  these  truths 
are  included  in  the  axioms  of  mathematics;  but 
there  are  axioms  which  do  not  belong  to  mathe- 
matics. 

All  necessary,  self-evident  truths,  have  these  three 
characteristics:  1st,  They  are  true  everywhere, 
and  at  all  times ;  2d,  They  can  not  be  demon- 
strated ;  3d,  The  contradictory  qf  any  one  of  them 

Fed.— 3. 

>  OF  ^ 


26  Pedagogy. 


is  manifestly  absurd.  To  illustrate,  take  the  axiom 
that  a  whole  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  its  parts. 
This  must  be  true  everywhere,  and  it  must  be  true 
at  all  times.  We  may  illustrate  it, — that  is,  we 
may  show  it  to  be  true  in  any  given  case ;  but  we 
can  not  prove  that  it  will  always  be  true  in  every 
case.  The  contradictory,  viz.,  that  the  whole  is 
not  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  its  parts,  is  seen  to  be 
absurd  at  once  by  any  one  capable  of  understand- 
ing the  statement. 

IDEAS. — Philosophers  do  not  agee  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  fundamental  ideas  given  us  by  Intuition. 
We  may  safely  say  that  there  are  seven  of  them, 
at  least;  viz.,  Being,  Time,  Space,  Beauty,  Cause, 
Right,  and  Personal  Identity. 

Being. — By  the  intuitive  idea  of  Being,  we  mean 
that  all  men  naturally  and  always  believe  in  the  ex- 
istence of  themselves  and  of  other  things.  None 
but  crazy  men  and  some  philosophers  ever  think  or 
talk  as  if  there  could  be  any  doubt  about  this. 

Time. — The  intuitive  idea  of  Time  means  the 
necessary  notion  of  time  as  passing  whenever  we 
think  of  the  occurrence  of  events.  We  can  not  rid 
ourselves  of  this  idea;  in  thought  we  may  empty 
time  of  every  event,  but  we  can  not  think  the  time 
away.  In  respect  to  definite  amounts  of  time,  we 
exercise  our  judgment  and  experience;  but  the  idea 
that  there  must  be  some  amount  of  time  is  intui- 
tive. 

Space. — The  intuitive  idea  of  Space  is  very  sim- 
ilar. We  judge  of  the  amount  of  space  in  any  par- 


The  Intellect.  27 


ticular  instance,  but  we  can  not  get  rid  of  the  idea 
that  space  is,  and  must  be ;  we  can  empty  it  in 
thought,  but  we  can  not  think  it  away,  nor  think 
of  it  as  finite. 

Beauty. — The  intuitive  idea  of  Beauty  is  that 
there  is,  and  must  be,  such  a  thing  as  beauty;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  some  things  are  beautiful  and 
some  are  not.  The  child  shows  that  he  has  this 
idea  very  early;  "pretty"  is  one  of  his  first  words. 
The  judgment  decides  as  to  the  beauty  of  any  par- 
ticular thing,  and  the  decisions  differ  very  widely. 

Cause. — We  believe  intuitively  that  every  effect 
must  have  a  cause ;  the  child  shows  that  this  idea  is 
inherent  by  his  questions  "Why?"  "What  makes 
it?"  etc.  A  cause  that  is  not  itself  caused  is  in- 
conceivable to  him ;  is  it  not  beyond  the  conception 
of  any  one?  Judgment  pronounces  as  to  what  the 
cause  is,  in  a  particular  case. 

It  is  highly  important  that  we  do  not  confound  the  occasion 
of  a  thing  with  its  cause.  The  occasion  of  a  thing  allows  it  to 
be  or  to  be  done  ;  the  cause  makes  it  to  be  or  to  be  done.  To 
illustrate  :  The  expansive  force  of  steam  is  the  cause  of  motion 
in  the  locomotive ;  the  opening  of  the  valve,  or  throttle,  is  the 
occasion  of  the  motion. 

Right. — The  idea  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
Right, — that  some  things  are  right,  and  others  are 
wrong, — seems  to  be  intuitive.  "Is  it  right?"  is 
a  question  that  has  a  meaning  to  a  very  young 
child;  parents  and  teachers  would  do  better  to  ask 
it  more  frequently.  Judgment  decides  whether  a 
specific  thing  is  right  or  not. 


28  Pedagogy. 


Personal  Identity. — No  sane  person  can  divest 
himself  of  the  idea  that  he  is  himself, — the  same 
personality  that  he  always  has  been, — it  is  intui- 
tive ;  he  is  conscious  that  it  is  so,  and  that  is  the 
end  of  all  question.  Nor  would  the  testimony  of  a 
thousand  strengthen  his  conviction. 

We  may  say  that  a  knowledge  of  these  funda- 
mental, intuitive  truths  and  ideas  is  innate, — that 
is,  we  are  so  constituted  at  birth  that,  as  soon  as 
the  occasion  arises  for  this  knowledge,  we  have  it, 
and  that  without  any  instruction  or  study.  And 
we  take  it  for  granted  that  every  one  else  has  this 
knowledge  the  same  as  we  have ;  we  pronounce  one 
an  idiot,  or  insane,  if  he  is  lacking  in  this  respect. 
For,  a  recognition  of  these  products  of  Intuition 
constitutes  what  we  call  natural  reason;  and  when 
one  loses  this  knowledge, — as,  for  instance,  when 
one  imagines  himself  the  Czar  of  Russia, — we  say 
that  he  has  lost  his  reason.  Reason,  as  we  here 
use  it,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  Power  of 
reasoning;  some  insane  people  can  reason  most  log- 
ically, but  they  have  lost  their  reason,  as  they 
show  in  various  ways. 

Review. — Let  us  look,  for  a  moment,  at  the 
four  grand  forms  of  intellectual  power,  as  we  have 
studied  them. 

The  Presentative  Powers  gather  knowledge  for  us. 

The  Representative  Powers  treasure  the  knowl- 
edge we  have  gained. 

The  Reflective  Power  examines  this  knowledge, 
and  discovers  its  import  and  its  value  and  use. 


The  Intellect.  29 


The  Intuitive  Power  gives  us  a  knowledge  of  the 
regulative  truths  and  ideas  that  must  be  regarded 
in  all  our  work. 

Or,  if  we  compare  knowledge  to  grain,  the  pre- 
sentative  powers  are  the  reaper ;  the  representative 
powers  are  the  granary;  the  reflective  power  is  the 
mill,  and  the  intuitive  power  provides  for  a  correct 
performance  of  the  work.  Grain  is  of  no  value  till 
it  is  gathered  and  stored ;  nor  can  it  be  of  any  use 
until  it  is  ground  ;  but  let  us  remember  that  every 
thing  which  shall  appear  in  the  final  product  must 
have  gone  into  the  Chopper."  The  mill  creates 
nothing. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    SENSIBILITY,    WILL,    ETC. 

The  Sensibility. — We  have  studied  briefly  the 
different  forms  of  intellectual  power ;  we  will  now 
turn  our  attention  to  the  Sensibility.  We  shall  not 
attempt  an  exhaustive  analysis  of  this  power,  but 
we  will  mention  only  a  few  of  its  forms  that  are 
most  concerned  in  the  work  of  the  educator.  We 
will  speak  of  the  Appetites  and  Desires,  Loves,  Hates, 
Admiration ,  and  Reverence. 

APPETITES  AND  DESIRES. — When  we  speak  of  the 
Appetites,  we  usually  mean  such  desires  as  have 
reference  to  the  body,  like  the  desire  for  sleep, 
food,  etc.  We  use  the  term  Desires  in  distinction 
from  Appetites,  to  signify  such  desires  as  do  not 
pertain  especially  to  bodily  wants,  as  the  desire  for 
praise,  for  excellence,  etc. 

LOVES. — We  put  the  word  Love  in  the  plural, 
meaning  to  include  not  only  what  may  strictly  be 
called  love,  as  love  of  friends,  country,  etc.,  but 
also  what  might  be  more  properly  called  a  liking, 
as  a  fondness  for  fine  dress,  for  certain  articles  of 
food,  etc. 

HATES. — The  word  Hate  is  put  in  the  plural  for 
a  similar  reason.  We  mean  by  it  not  only  hate 
(30) 


Sensibility,    Will,  Etc.  31 

properly  so  called,  as  a  hate  for  evil  things,  but 
also  all  the  different  aversions  and  dislikes,  as  well. 

ADMIRATION. — The  word  Admiration  was  for- 
merly nearly  synonymous  with  wonder.  It  retains 
something  of  the  same  meaning  still,  but  there  is 
added  to  wonder  a  sense  of  approbation  as  well. 
We  admire  that  which  seems  to  us  wonderful  and 
pleasing  at  the  same  time. 

REVERENCE. — By  Reverence,  we  mean  a  profound 
respect  for  what  is  great  or  good,  or  both.  When 
it  becomes  intense,  we  call  it  Veneration. 

CONSCIENCE. — There  is  another  very  important 
power  or  faculty  of  the  mind  which  we  would  class 
with  the  sensibilities,  or  emotions,  or  feelings, 
although  it  is  by  no  means  so  placed  by  all  writers. 
We  refer  to  the  Conscience,  which  we  believe  is 
primarily  and  properly  a  feeling;  but  many,  holding 
that  conscience  includes  a  judgment  of  what  is 
right  or  wrong,  as  well  as  a  feeling  in  respect  to 
what  is  right  or  wrong,  are  inclined  to  class  it 
among  the  knowing  faculties,  or,  perhaps,  rather  to 
put  it  in  a  class  by  itself.  We  define  Conscience 
as  follows: 

CONSCIENCE  is  the  feeling  that  prompts  us  to  do 
what  we  believe  is  right,  and  to  avoid  what  we  believe 
is  wrong,  and  that  commends  us  when  we  obey  it,  and 
condemns  us  when  we  disobey  it. 

It  is  judgment  that  determines  whether  any 
particular  thing  is  right  or  wrong.  In  respect 


32  Pedagogy. 


to  their  judgments  as  to  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong,  men  differ  widely ;  their  conclusions  are 
sometimes  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other. 
Yet,  regarding  the  right  or  wrong  of  many  things, 
as  murder,  cruelty,  oppression,  kindness,  truth, 
honesty,  etc.,  the  judgments  of  men  are  nearly 
harmonious. 

But,  if  our  definition  of  conscience  is  correct,  then  we  may 
say  that  conscience  is  the  same  in  all  men,  and  in  all  ages ; 
its  action  is  always  uniform.  It  is  said  that  the  Hindoo 
mother  conscientiously  throws  her  babe  into  the  Ganges,  while 
the  Christian  mother  conscientiously  preserves  and  cherishes 
her  offspring ;  and,  hence,  we  are  told  that  conscience  acts 
very  differently  in  different  cases.  Now,  it  seems  clear  that 
conscience  is  the  same,  and  acts  in  the  same  way,  in  both 
women  ;  each  does  what  she  believes  to  be  right.  Owing  to  a 
difference  in  education,  probably,  their  judgments  lead  to 
different  conclusions ;  but  in  their  consciences,  they  agree 
completely. 

We  have  said  that  our  definition  of  conscience  would  not 
be  accepted  by  all ;  but  we  believe  it  to  be  correct.  If  it  were 
accepted,  and  the  proper  distinction  between  judgment  and 
conscience  were  always  kept  in  mind,  many  of  the  vexatious 
disputes  concerning  conscience  would  be  settled,  or,  at  least, 
the  discussion  would  be  simplified. 

The  Will.  —The  action  of  the  Will  takes  only 
one  form,  but  it  involves  two  elements,  as  appears 
in  the  following  definition : 

THE  WILL  is  the  power  by  which  we  choose  and 
execute. 


Sensibility,   Will,  Etc.  33 

There  is  no  action  of  the  Will  when  we  execute 
without  any  choice ;  nor  does  choice  constitute 
an  act  of  the  Will  unless  some  effort  is  put  forth  in 
consequence  of  our  choice.  A  mere  choice,  with 
no  attempt  at  execution,  is  a  wish.  The  moral 
quality  of  actions  resides  in  the  choices  which  lead 
to  them ;  nor  can  we  avoid  the  responsibility  of 
choice.  If,  between  any  two  courses  of  action,  we 
choose  not  to  follow  either,  we  have  exercised  the 
power  of  choice  in  the  act  of  not  choosing. 

Other  Powers. — We  have  already  defined  a 
Power  as  the  ability  to  do  something ;  but  some 
philosophers  make  a  distinction  between  a  mental 
Power  and  a  mental  Faculty. 

A  FACULTY  is  a  power  under  the  control  of  the 
Will,  having  a  specific  work  of  its  own  to  do. 

According  to  this  definition,  we  must  class  See- 
ing, Memory,  Judgment,  Love,  etc.,  as  mental 
faculties.  But  the  mind  has  three  very  important 
powers  that  do  not  answer  to  the  definition  of  fac- 
ulties ;  these  are,  Consciousness,  Attention,  and  Con- 
ception. 

The  powers  of  Consciousness,  Attention,  and  Conception 
never  act  separately  from  each  other,  nor  from  some  one  or 
more  of  the  mind's  faculties.  These  powers  are  not  co-ordinate 
with  the  other  mental  powers,  but  are  connected  with  them  all. 
Hence,  in  the  Scheme  on  page  14,  their  names  are  written 
across,  opposite  a  brace  that  includes  the  powers  of  all  the 
three  Grand  Divisions. 


34  Pedagogy. 


CONSCIOUSNESS  is  the  power  the  mind  has  to  know 
its  own  actions  and  states,  and  to  know  them  as  belong- 
ing to  the  Ego. 

This  is  not  a  faculty ;  it  is  not  under  the  control 
of  the  Will,  nor  does  it  perform  any  specific  act  of 
itself — it  gives  cognizance  of  the  acts  performed  by 
the  faculties. 

Whether  there  can  be  any  mental  action  of  which  we  are 
not  conscious,  is  a  question  that  has  been  much  discussed.  It 
seems  very  clear  that  there  can  be  no  proper  activity  of  the 
mind  if  we  are  not  conscious  of  that  activity ;  not  to  know 
that  one  sees,  is  not  to  see.  No  doubt,  however,  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  brain  activity  of  which  we  are  not  conscious. 
When  we  perform  any  habitual  act,  as  walking,  we  know 
that  every  muscular  movement  is  prompted  by  an  action  of 
the  brain,  directly  or  indirectly ;  but,  having  once  put  the 
"  machine  in  motion,"  we  have  no  consciousness  of  the 
further  action  of  the  brain ;  the  movements  seem  to  be 
purely  automatic.  There  is  brain  activity,  no  doubt,  but  we 
believe  that  it  does  not  involve  any  mental  activity,  properly 
speaking. 

What  we  have  called  brain  activity,  as  distinct  from 
mental  activity,  is  called  "unconscious  cerebration"  by 
many  writers. 

Some  writers  speak  of  "unconscious  knowledge."  Such 
an  expression  seems  to  be  contradictory  in  terms.  Yet  much 
of  our  knowledge,  doubtless,  has  not  been  consciously  formu- 
lated ;  a  child  or  a  savage  knows  that  a  part  can  not  equal  the 
whole,  and  still  he  may  not  be  able  to  state  his  knowledge 
to  another, — perhaps  his  mind  has  never  conceived  such  a 
statement. 

ATTENTION  is  the  power  the  mind  has  to  bring  all 
its  force  to  bear  on  one  thing. 


Sensibility,   Will,  Etc.  35 

Important  as  this  power  is,  it  produces  no  result 
alone,  and  of  itself.  Hence,  it  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered a  faculty,  although  it  is  under  the  control 
of  the  Will. 


When  we  say  that  Attention  is  under  the  control  of  the 
Will,  we  do  not  mean  that  it  never  acts  except  in  obedience  to 
a  mandate  of  the  Will,  but  simply  that  the  Will  can  cause  it 
to  act.  The  same  is  true  of  other  voluntary  powers ;  we  often 
remember  without  willing  to  do  so,  but  Memory  can  be 
moved  by  the  Will. 

If  it  be  asked  how  the  mind  turns  its  force  to  one  thing  in 
an  act  of  the  attention,  the  answer  seems  to  be  that  it  is  done 
by  not  allowing  the  mental  force  to  move  toward  any  thing 
else. 

Illustration. — The  mental  current  may  be  compared  to  a 
stream  of  water — it  flows  constantly.  In  revery  and  absence 
of  attention,  it  is  like  that  stream  flowing  down  the  mountain 
side,  and  spreading,  unrestricted,  over  the  meadows ;  it  may 
be  pleasant  enough,  but  it  does  no  work.  When  one  wishes 
to  put  the  stream  to  work,  he  puts  a  dam  across  it,  and  allows 
no  place  of  escape,  except  at  the  point  where  he  puts  his 
wheel.  So  we  put  the  mind  to  work  by  confining  the  mental 
force  to  one  point  of  escape.  If  we  can  do  this  completely, 
the  attention  is  perfect, — no  force  is  lost ;  if  not,  the  power  in 
part  escapes  like  lost  water  through  a  leaky  dam. 

The  question  is  discussed,  whether  we  can  perform  any 
mental  act  without  some  degree  of  attention.  As  in  the  same 
question  respecting  consciousness,  the  answer  is  clearly  in  the 
negative.  The  reason  is  essentially  the  same  ;  it  is  inconceiv- 
able that  there  can  be  consciousness  of  that  to  which  no 
attention  is  given. 

It  is  also  asked  whether  the  mind  can  attend  to  more  than 
one  thing  at  a  time ;  much  has  been  written  on  this  question. 
It  seems  clear  that  we  can  attend  to  several  things ;  but,  in 
such  a  case,  the  attention  is  not  perfect,  of  course. 


» 

36  Pedagogy. 


CONCEPTION. — It  is  not  easy  to  frame  a  short  and 
satisfactory  definition  for  Conception,  although 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  mentioning  the  particular 
things  that  it  does.  It  is  the  power  by  which  we 
see  with  the  "  mind's  eye"  things  not  present;  by 
which  we  perceive  the  abstract  relations  of  things  ; 
by  which  we  get  clear  notions  through  discourse  or 
thinking ;  by  which  we  understand  why  and  how 
things  may  be,  etc. 

When  a  teacher,  after  explaining  a  problem  in 
algebra,  asks  the  pupil  if  he  "sees  it,"  he  means 
to  ask  if  it  is  clear  to  his  conception ;  of  course,  he 
has  no  reference  to  the  act  of  sight.  Perhaps  the 
best  short  statement  for  Conception,  is  to  say  that 
it  is  the  poiver  by  which  we  see  with  the  ' ' mind's  eye." 
When  we  conceive  of  a  thing  fully,  we  see  all 
around  it,  as  it  were ;  we  become  acquainted  with 
all  its  limitations;  we  "take  it  in;"  we  comprehend 
it.  But  we  often  apprehend  things  that  we  can  not 
comprehend;  just  as  one  may  see  something  of  a 
mountain  when  much  of  it  is  hidden  in  clouds. 

We  must  not  limit  the  possibility  of  things  by  our  power 
to  comprehend  them.  Many  possible  things  are  inconceiv- 
able ;  for  instance,  the  matter  of  this  earth  must  have  been 
created  out  of  nothing,  or  it  must  always  have  existed  in 
some  form  without  any  beginning ;  both  these  things  are 
utterly  inconceivable,  and  yet  not  only  is  one  of  them  possi- 
ble, but  it  is  certain.  On  the  other  hand,  some  impossible 
things  are  perfectly  conceivable,  as  the  passage  of  a  flying 
ship  to  the  moon. 

Conception   is  largely  under  the   control   of   the 


Sensibility,   Will,  Etc.  37 

Will,  but  it  accompanies  all  the  other  mental 
powers,  and  produces  no  specific  work  of  its  own; 
hence,  it  is  not  a  faculty. 

There  is  a  special  use  of  the  Conceptive  power  in  forming 
abstract,  general  concepts ;  for  instance,  when  the  ideas  of 
surface  limited  by  three  lines,  are  combined,  we  have  the 
abstract,  general  concept  signified  by  the  word  triangle.  This 
combination  is  made  by  Conception  acting  with  the  Reflective 
Power ;  such  a  use  of  the  Conceptive  Power  may  be  called 
Logical  Conception. 

Use  of  the  Powers. — Having  made  this  brief 
survey  of  the  mental  powers  and  faculties,  we  may 
ask :  Are  some  of  these  good  and  some  bad  ?  Are 
some  to  be  cherished  and  cultivated,  and  some  to 
be  crushed  out?  The  truth  is,  that  all  were  given 
for  a  good  use,  and  all  may  be  abused ;  it  is  just  as 
wrong  to  love  evil  as  to  hate  good.  Even  venera- 
tion may  work  the  greatest  evil,  as  in  the  idolater. 
All  these  powers  are  good  in  one  sense,  if  they  are 
well  adapted  to  their  purpose ;  just  as  a  knife  is 
good,  if  it  is  made  of  good  steel.  But  moral  good- 
ness can  not  be  predicated  of  the  powers  any  more 
than  it  can  of  the  knife;  the  good  knife  may  be 
used  to  carve  a  roast  or  to  kill  a  man, — the  moral 
quality  lies  in  the  use. 

So  all  these  powers  may  be  used  for  good  or  for 
bad  purposes,  and  it  should  be  the  business  of 
education  to  make  all  these  powers  efficient,  and 
also  to  lead  to  their  right  use  in  all  cases,  and  to 
prevent  their  wrong  use. 


SCHEME     III. 

NOTE. — Let   the  reader  turn  back   to  the  General   Scheme,  page   8, 
and  notice  how  this  Scheme  grows  out  of  that,  and  connects  with  it. 


1.  Learning  is  not  Education. 

2.  Definitions. 

3.  Relation  of  Teacher  and  Pupil 

4.  Of  the  Powers  as  given. 

(a)  General  and  Special  Education. 

5.  Education  requires  Time. 

6.  Principles  and  Methods. 
(a)  Best  Methods. 

(l>)   Four  Grand  Principles. 

7.  Right  Order  in  Education. 


3.  What  is  Education?    .  . 


(38) 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHAT    IS    EDUCATION? 

WHAT  is  education  ?  If  this  question  were  put 
to  each  person  who  proposes  to  teach  school,  the 
answers  would  be  very  different.  Probably  it  would 
appear  that  many  of  the  candidates  for  the  teacher's 
position  had  never  seriously  thought  of  the  ques- 
tion,— had  never  clearly  set  before  their  own  minds 
the  nature  of  the  work  they  were  about  to  under- 
take. 

Learning  not  Education. —  Doubtless,  many 
would  show  that,  in  their  thought,  education  is 
simply  the  acquiring  of  knowledge, — the  laying  up 
of  a  store  of  facts,  in  the  memory;  they  would 
make  learning  and  education  synonymous  terms. 
Probably  this  is  the  common  opinion  of  a  majority 
of  our  people.  But  it  should  be  clearly  understood 
that  learning  is  not  education.  Without  doubt,  they 
are  closely  related  ;  learning  is  an  aid  to  education ; 
no  one  can  become  truly  educated  without  becom- 
ing more  or  less  learned.  But  the  two  words  do 
not  mean  the  same  thing.  Learning  is  a  posses- 
sion ;  but  education  is  a  part  of  one's  self;  it  gives 
one  the  mastery  of  himself, — it  trains  and  develops 
his  powers,  and  gives  him  control  over  them. 

(39) 


40  Pedagogy. 


Many  men  are  learned,  but  not  educated ;  that  is,  they 
have  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  science,  or  liter- 
ature, or  history;  but  they  have  never  learned  how  to  use 
them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  a  source  of  power  to 
themselves.  On  the  other  hand,  many  men  may  be  said  to 
be  well  educated,  who  are  not  very  learned.  They  have  no 
great  stores  of  knowledge,  but  they  have  made  such  use  of 
the  knowledge  they  have  obtained  that  their  powers  have 
been  strengthened  and  developed,  and  they  have  come  to  be 
masters  of  themselves.  The  stock  of  knowledge  that  they 
have  they  may  have  acquired  in  school  or  college,  or  they 
may  have  acquired  most  of  it  on  the  farm,  or  in  the  factory, 
or  shop ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Lincoln,  by  poring  over  a  few 
books  by  the  light  of  a  pine  knot  in  the  kitchen. 

Definitions. — "EDUCATION  is  the  development  of 
the  faculties,  or  germs  of  power,  in  man,  and  the  train- 
ing of  them  into  harmonious  action  in  obedience  to  tlie 
laws  of  reason  and  morality. ' ' 

An  eminent  teacher  has  briefly  defined  education 
as  cidtured  growth. 

If  we  examine  the  word  itself  in  respect  to  its 
radical  meaning,  we  get  essentially  the  same 
thought ;  the  root  of  the  word,  due,  is  from  a  Latin 
verb  meaning  to  lead,  and  the  prefix  e  is  from  the 
preposition  ex,  meaning  out. 

EDUCATION  is  a  leading  out  or  developing  of  the 
powers  whose  germs  the  child  possesses  at  his  birth. 

All  these  definitions  are  in  substantial  harmony ;  and  they 
show  that  education  really  means  very  much  more  than 
simply  storing  the  mind  with  facts.  The  getting  of  knowledge 
is  an  important  part  of  school  work ;  but  it  is  not  all,  nor  is  it 


What  is  Education  ?  4 1 


the  most  important.  The  development  of  power  in  all  right 
directions  is  the  main  business  of  the  school,  and  all  the 
knowledge  obtained  should  be  gained  and  used  in  such  a  way 
as  to  help  forward  this  growth  of  power. 

Some  writers  on  education  are  inclined  to  speak  of  certain 
studies  as  useful  chiefly  in  giving  information,  while  others 
have  their  chief  value  in  the  training  they  give, — they  are  a 
kind  of  mental  gymnastics.  The  last  class  of  studies  they 
sometimes  call  forming  studies ;  and  the  first,  informing 
studies.  This  distinction  does  not,  however,  seem  to  be  a 
very  wise  one ;  all  proper  studies  give  useful  information, 
and  all  studies  can  be  so  pursued  as  to  aid  in  the  develop- 
ment of  mental  power.  And,  however  valuable  the  knowl- 
edge gained,  the  growth  of  power  should  be  the  chief  aim 
of  all  our  school  work. 


Relation  of  Teacher  and  Pupil. — Now,  what 
can  the  teacher  do  in  the  work  of  a  true  educa- 
tion? The  work  of  the  real  educator  is  quite  like 
that  of  the  skillful  gardener  or  nurseryman.  He 
prepares  the  soil,  he  puts  the  seed  in  the  proper 
place,  he  watches  the  growing  shoot,  he  stirs  the 
earth  about  it,  he  removes  weeds  and  insects  that 
would  injure  it,  etc.  In  this  way,  the  result  is 
something  quite  different  from  what  it  would  have 
been  without  the  gardener, — the  result  is  a  "  culti- 
vated growth."  The  plant  has  done  the  growing; 
the  gardener  has  contributed  the  culture.  So  with 
the  person  who  is  educated, — the  result  will  depend 
chiefly  on  the  putting  forth  of  his  own  power. 
Strictly  speaking,  one  can  not  give  another  an  edu- 
cation ;  he  may  contribute  the  culture,  but  the 
growth  must  always  come  from  within,  by  the 

Ped.-^l. 


42  Pedagogy. 


pupil's  own  effort.  It  seems  that  there  are  only 
four  things  possible  for  a  teacher  to  do  in  this  pro- 
cess, viz.: 

He  may  arouse,  incite,  and  encourage  his  pupil. 

He  may  set  before  him  the  right  kind  and 
amount  of  work  to  do. 

He  may  guide  him  to  do  the  work  in  the  right 
way. 

He  may  make  the  circumstances  favorable  by 
saving  him  from  the  annoyance  of  others,  etc. 

What  more  can  he  do? 

Given  Powers  Only. — Nor  is  it  in  the  power  of 
the  educator  to  change  the  nature  of  the  child. 
Every  child  that  is  sound  and  sane  is  born  with  the 
germs  of  all  the  powers  common  to  human  beings, 
but  these  germs  have  very  different  degrees  of 
strength  in  different  persons.  Hence,  it  follows 
that  no  processes  of  education  can  make  all  to  be 
alike ;  nor  can  any  one  become  very  strong  by  a 
process  of  education  in  any  direction,  if,  by  his 
native  endowment,  he  is  weak  in  that  direction. 

If  Newton  had  been  educated  for  an  artist,  even  under 
the  best  teachers,  and  Angelo  had  been  educated  for  a  math- 
ematician, under  teachers  equally  good,  it  is  not  at  all  prob- 
able that  these  eminent  men  would  have  changed  places ; 
most  likely  neither  would  have  achieved  distinction. 

A  SPECIAL  EDUCATION  has  for  its  purpose  the 
acquiring  of  some  art,  or  trade,  or  profession.  In 
such  an  education,  it  would  be  foolish  to  spend 
one's  effort  in  cultivating  the  weaker  powers;  ex- 


What  is  Education  ?  43 

cellent  endowments  in  any  direction  indicate  that  in 
that  direction  lies  the  road  to  the  greatest  power 
and  usefulness.  Hence,  the  folly  of  choosing  a 
career  for  a  young  man  before  he  is  old  enough  to 
have  shown  his  individual  peculiarities, — to  have 
determined  his  "bent." 

A  GENERAL  EDUCATION  has  for  its  purpose  to 
make  of  the  given  child  the  best  possible  specimen 
of  a  man  or  woman.  This  should  be  the  education 
attempted  in  all  our  common  schools  and  colleges. 
As  the  man  or  woman  should  be  as  symmetrical  as 
possible  in  all  that  pertains  to  a  manly  or  womanly 
character,  it  follows  that,  in  such  an  education, 
weakness  in  any  direction  calls  for  special  effort  to 
develop  the  child  in  that  particular, — a  course  quite 
the  opposite  of  that  to  be  taken  in  a  special  edu- 
cation. 

Nor  should  the  work  of  special  education  be  un- 
dertaken till  that  of  a  general  education  is  fairly 
done.  The  man  is  more  than  the  artist,  or  doctor, 
or  mechanic.  It  is  a  pity  that  so  many  of  our 
American  youth  are  so  impatient  to  undertake  their 
life-work  that  they  have  not  patience  to  lay  a  broad 
general  foundation  before  they  attempt  to  build 
their  special  structure.  The  result  is  weakness  and 
narrowness  to  the  end  of  their  career. 

Education  Requires  Time. — Our  age  is  marked 
by  mechanical  invention;  by  the  steam  engine,  the 
telegraph,  the  labor-saving  machine,  etc.,  we  are 
able  to  do  many  things  much  more  rapidly  than  we 
once  could.  Many  seem  disposed  to  think  that 


44  Pedagogy. 


something  may  be  contrived  by  which  the  work  of 
education  may  be  shortened  in  a  corresponding 
degree.  In  fact,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  astonish- 
ing professions  and  promises  of  some  very  young 
institutions,  we  might  conclude  that  the  "  short 
cut"  to  an  education  has  been  found, — or,  at  least, 
that  it  is  expected  to  make  people  believe  that  it 
has  been  found. 

Why  is  it  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  work  of  edu- 
cation can  be  thus  shortened,  seeing  that  we  have  achieved 
such  wonderful  results  in  other  things  ?  The  answer  is  easy. 
All  these  wonderful  inventions  result  in  mechanical  effects. 
Education  is  growth.  If  one  wishes  his  lot  enclosed  by  a 
fence,  he  can  have  it  done  in  a  few  hours  by  employing 
workmen  enough  ;  but  if  he  chooses  to  have  a  living  hedge 
around  it,  he  must  wait.  When  some  method  is  found  by 
which  a  fine  sugar-maple,  three  feet  in  diameter,  can  be  pro- 
duced in  six  months,  then  it  will  be  time  enough  to  listen  to 
these  very  smart  people  who  promise  a  finished  education 
in  the  same  time. 

Principles  and  Methods. — We  have  taken  a 
brief  survey  of  some  of  the  most  important  powers 
of  man.  We  have  seen  what  Education  really  is, 
and  what  it  ought  to  do  for  these  powers. 

Let  us  now  make  some  suggestions  in  respect  to 
the  work  of  training  or  educating  these  powers. 

BEST  METHODS. — It  is  not  our  purpose  to  give 
any  set  of  best  methods  for  doing  this  work.  Such 
a  task  would  be  utterly  impossible,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  one  must  be  largely  governed  by  cir- 
cumstances in  the  devising  or  adopting  of  methods. 
It  will  follow,  from  what  is  said  above,  that  a 


What  is  Education?  45 

method  which  may  be  good  for  one  set  of  pupils, 
may  be  worthless  for  another  set;  or,  a  method 
good  for  pupils  in  some  circumstances,  may  not  be 
good  for  the  same  pupils  in  different  circumstances. 
Hence,  the  truth  of  a  remark  once  made  by  a 
shrewd  teacher :  ' '  Best  methods  !  there  are  no  best 
methods." 

It  is  wise  to  study  methods,  not  for  servile  imita- 
tion, but  for  suggestion.  It  is  frequently  wise  to 
adapt  methods,  but  rarely  or  never  to  adopt  them. 
It  is  true,  however,  that  all  good  methods  rest 
upon  sound  principles ;  these  never  change,  but  the 
methods  founded  on  them  may  vary  indefinitely. 
It  will  not  follow  from  this  that  every  method  is  a 
good  one  which  recognizes  a  correct  principle.  It 
is  one  of  the  soundest  principles  of  pedagogy  that 
no  teacher  can  proceed  profitably  with  his  work  till 
he  has  the  attention  of  his  class.  But  he  would 
hardly  be  a  wise  teacher  who  should  attempt  to 
gain  that  attention  by  firing  a  pistol,  or  by  standing 
on  his  head,  although  he  would  gain  the  attention 
in  either  case  without  doubt. 

FOUR  GRAND  PRINCIPLES. — Before  making  any 
direct  suggestions  as  to  training  the  powers,  let  us 
state  four  fundamental  truths  of  pedagogy. 

1.  Any  power  under  the  control  of  the  will  may  be 
cultivated  or  trained. 

2.  The  powers  are  trained  in  one  way,  and  in  one 
way  only ;  viz.,  by  WISE  USE.      This  law  of  work  is 
the  one  unchangeable  law  of  progress  everywhere. 


46  Pedagogy. 


3.  The    wisest   training   will    be    directed    to    those 
powers  that  are  conspicuously  active  at  the  time. 

4.  An   indispensable  prerequisite    to    any  profitable 
training  is  core/id  attention  to  the  matter  in  hand. 

Further  words  in  respect  to  the  third  principle 
may  be  necessary.  We  have  said  that  every  sane 
and  sound  child  is  born  with  a  germ  of  every 
power  that  is  common  to  man.  But  these  germs 
do  not  all  develop  at  the  same  time,  as  every  one 
at  all  familiar  with  child-life  must  know.* 

And  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  child-life  has  no  business 
to  attempt  to  teach  children, — of  all  the  text-books  on  peda- 
gogy, the  most  valuable  is  a  baby  or  a  young  child.  He 
who  neglects  the  loving  study  of  this  "living  epistle"  will 
never  become  very  wise  in  a  knowledge  of  the  correct  teach- 
ing and  training  of  children,  no  matter  what  else  he  may 
study. 

Right  Order  in  Education. — Now,  one  who 
studies  children,  even  a  little,  will  soon  observe 
that  at  first  the  Presentative  powers  seem  to  be 
active  almost  alone,  so  far  as  the  intellect  is  con- 


*  In  view  of  the  order  in  which  the  child's  powers  develop,  it  is  the 
custom  of  some  writers  to  divide  the  years  of  youth  into  three  periods 
or  stages;  viz.,  The  Perceptive  Stage,  the  Conccptive  Stage,  and  the 
Reflective  Stage.  During  the  first,  extending  from  birth  to  the  age  of 
seven  or  eight,  the  senses  are  most  active ;  during  the  second,  extending 
to  fourteen  or  sixteen,  Memory  and  Imagination  are  the  controlling 
powers;  Reflection  appears  in  its  strength  only  when  the  youth  ap- 
proaches maturity. 


What  is  Education?  47 

cerned ;  seeing,  hearing,  feeling,  and  tasting  are  the 
child's  occupations.  Memory  and  Imagination  soon 
follow,  while  Reasoning  and  Reflection  are  long 
delayed.  This  fact  clearly  shows  what  should  be 
the  field  of  effort  in  the  teaching  and  training  of 
young  children ;  it  should  include — 

Training  in  sense-perception. 

Proper  expression  by  words,   and 

Manual  activity. 

Instead  of  following  such  a  course  with  young 
children  as  the  above  statement  would  indicate, 
how  often  the  commands  are,  "Sit  still,"  "Don't 
talk,"  "Study  your  book!"  And  in  studying  the 
book, — that  dry,  conventional,  artificial  thing, — the 
effort  is  not  made  to  help  the  child  to  see  correctly 
what  is  in  the  book,  and  to  learn  from  it  such 
things  as  his  present  state  of  development  would 
allow  him  to  grasp  and  appreciate,  but  to  crowd 
his  memory  with  such  words  as  can  have  no  mean- 
ing till  he  has  learned  to  use  his  powers  of  reflec- 
tion, abstraction,  and  reasoning. 

Thus,  the  powers  already  active  are  neglected,  that  a 
vain,  stupefying,  deadening  effort  may  be  made  in  an  appeal 
to  powers  that  will  remain  comparatively  dormant  for  years. 
Not  seldom  is  he  required  to  learn  and  to  give  logical  forms 
of  reasoning,  as  in  "mental"  arithmetic,  while  his  mind 
is  wholly  in  the  perceptive  and  imaginative  stages.  It  is  as 
though  the  gardener,  having  beans  and  potatoes  planted  in 
his  garden  at  the  same  time,  should  go  out  and  hoe  around 
where  his  potatoes  will  appear  by-and-by,  but  neglect  to  pay 
any  attention  to  his  beans  already  above  ground  and  in  great 
danger  of  being  choked  by  the  weeds. 


SCHEME     IV. 


NOTE. — Connect  this  Scheme  with  the  General  Scheme. 


4.  Hints 
on  Training, 


i.  The  Sight, 


2.  The  Hearing, 


3.  The  Memory. 

4.  The  Imagination. 

5.  The  Reflective  Power. 


6.  The  Sensibility, 


7.  Moral  Training. 

8.  The  Will. 

9.  The  Attention. 
10.  The  Conception. 


1.  Out-of-doors. 

2.  In  the  School-room. 

3.  Exercises. 

1.  Out-of-doors. 

2.  In  the  School-room. 


1.  Loves  and  Hates. 

2.  Appetites  and  Desires. 

3.  Admiration. 

4.  Reverence. 

5.  Conscience. 


(48) 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TRAINING   THE    POWERS. 

Training  the  Senses. — In  the  light  of  what  has 
been  said,  the  usefulness  and  the  philosophic  char- 
acter of  the  "  Kindergarten"  will  be  very  apparent. 
But,  it  would  seem  that  the  apparatus  and  the 
methods  of  the  kindergarten  are  not  available  for 
the  ordinary  district  school  at  present;  and,  per- 
haps, they,  will  not  be  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
The  question  is,  Can  the  teacher  of  the  ordinary 
district  school,  with  only  the  ordinary  appliances  to 
be  found  there,  do  any  thing  to  train  young  chil- 
dren in  accordance  with  these  truths  and  princi- 
ples? We  answer,  "Yes,  much  every  way." 

The  Sight. — There  is  no  end  to  the  ways  in 
which  a  thoughtful  teacher  in  such  a  school  may 
help  to  train  the  sight  of  his  pupil ;  but  we  can 
only  suggest. 

OUT-OF-DOORS. — Different  kinds  of  vegetation  are 
all  about  him.  Train  him  to  observe  the  different 
forms  of  leaves,  grasses,  and  flowers.  He  will  re- 
spond heartily  and  gladly  to  such  an  effort.  You 
have  but  to  hint  that  you  want  specimens,  and  they 
will  be  forthcoming  in  perplexing  abundance.  Is 
there  any  reason  why  children  in  the  country  should 

Ped.-5.  (49) 


50  Pedagogy. 


be  ignorant  of  the  different  forms  of  foliage  about 
them?  Surely,  they  will  take  delight  in  noting  the 
characteristic  forms  of  the  leaves  of  the  maple,  the 
oak,  the  elm,  the  apple,  etc.  Would  not  this  be 
as  useful,  aside  from  the  training  of  sense,  as  a 
good  deal  of  what  they  are  required  to  learn? 
Why  not  have  them  learn  to  note  the  forms  of  the 
different  grasses,  and  the  humbler  plants,  as  well  as 
the  leaves  of  the  grains  and  garden  vegetables? 

In  connection  with  this  study  of  the  forms  of 
foliage,  many  a  weary  hour  may  be  beguiled  in 
attempts  to  copy  or  to  reproduce  some  of  the  forms 
on  their  slates. 

And,  then,  what  endless  lessons  in  colors,  their 
names,  their  combinations,  etc.,  as  shown  in  the 
flowers,  or  in  bright  colored  yarns  or  bits  of  calico, 
or  in  samples  that  any  teacher  can  make  with  the 
aniline  dyes !  And  what  a  field  for  training  chil- 
dren's eyes  in  observing  the  shapes  and  sizes  and 
colors  of  the  animal  world  all  about  them !  Will 
they  perform  the  dull,  necessary  drudgery  of  book- 
study  less  earnestly  or  efficiently  for  a  few  minutes 
spent  in  waking  up  the  mind  by  some  such  exer- 
cise in  seeing,  and  endeavoring  to  describe  what 
they  see  by  word  or  by  pencil  ? 

It  is  a  eastern  in  the  famous  Ouincy  schools  to  allow  the 
pupils  ten  minutes  each  morning  in  telling  what  they  ob- 
served on  the  way  to  school.  Here,  sight  and  language  both 
are  cultivated ;  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  training  in 
the  art  of  expression  must  be  kept  up  through  the  whole  of 
the  school  course. 


Training  the  Powers. 


The  little  pupil  on  his  way  to  school,  earnest  to  see  some- 
thing of  interest  to  describe  to  a  sympathetic  teacher,  will 
be  a  very  different  object  from  Shakespeare's  "whining 
school-boy,  with  his  satchel  and  shining  morning  face,  creep- 
ing like  a  snail  unwillingly  to  school." 

IN  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM. — We  have  made  some 
suggestions  about  training  the  sight  to  see  things 
outside  of  the  school-room.  Let  us  now  suggest 
some  exercises  for  training  the  same  sense  in  deal- 
ing with  things  in  the  school-room. 

Pictures. — Here,  especially  with  quite  young  chil- 
dren, much  may  be  done  with  pictures.  And. 
happily,  most  of  the  text-books  for  little  children 
are  now  filled  with  beautiful  and  instructive  pict- 
ures. 

Put  before  the  class  a  picture  of  a  farm-yard 
scene,  for  instance.  Let  each  one  point  out  the 
distinct  objects  that  he  sees  in  the  picture.  Get 
him  to  think  about  them,  and  to  express  his 
thoughts.  Do  not  put  words  into  his  mouth,  but 
encourage  his  own  expression,  however  crude  and 
imperfect  it  may  be.  Continue  with  the  picture 
until  it  is  exhausted ; — until  every  object  has  been 
noticed.  Commend  him  who  can  find  the  most 
things  to  see,  and  can  say  most  about  them,  but  do 
not  do  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  discourage  the  slow 
and  the  awkward. 

By  such  a  process,  not  only  is  the  eye  trained, 
but  an  inexhaustible  store  of  material  is  gathered 
for  language  lessons.  And,  with  even  very  young- 
children,  some  of  the  statements  may  be  put  in 


52  Pedagogy. 


writing,  thus  teaching,  in  a  natural  way,  penman- 
ship, spelling,  the  structure  of  sentences,  and  some 
of  the  most  obvious  uses  of  punctuation. 

One  who  never  tried  the  experiment  will  be  surprised  to 
see  how  much  more  interest  a  child  will  take  in  a  picture 
that  he  has  been  taught  to  see.  Give  a  book  full  of  beau- 
tiful and  appropriate  pictures  into  the  hand  of  a  little  child 
without  any  guidance,  and  he  will  glance  at  them  rapidly, 
one  after  another,  and  the  book  is  a  "squeezed  orange"  to 
him.  Restrict  him  to  one  or  two  pictures  at  a  time,  teach 
him  how  to  see  them,  and  the  same  book  will  be  an  unfail- 
ing source  of  instruction  and  amusement  for  many  days. 

Children  are  often  slow,  blundering,  and  mechan- 
ical in  their  reading,  simply  because  their  eyes  have 
never  been  taught  to  look  ahead  and  to  take  in  more 
words  than  the  one  they  are  trying  to  pronounce. 
One  way  to  remedy  this,  is  to  have  a  stiff  card- 
board with  a  single  sentence  printed  on  it ;  or, 
better,  a  little  hand  black-board  with  a  sentence 
written  on  it.  Hold  it  for  an  instant  before  the 
class,  then  take  it  away  and  see  who  can  pronounce 
the  whole  sentence. 

Of  course,  these  suggestions  might  be  extended 
indefinitely;  but  the  teacher  who  understands  the 
true  principles  of  his  art,  can  multiply  them  indefi- 
nitely; and  he  will  do  so,  when  once  his  mind 
has  awakened  to  their  importance.  The  result 
aimed  at  is  to  make  the  sight  quick,  accurate ',  and 
comprehensive. 

A  SUGGESTED  EXERCISE. — Before  leaving  the  sub- 
ject of  sight,  we  want  to  suggest  another  kind  of 


Training  the  Powers.  53 

exercise,  which,  if  properly  conducted,  will  give  a 
three-fold  result, — it  will  train  the  child's  eye,  it 
will  give  him  useful  information,  and  it  will  improve 
his  language  and  increase  his  vocabulary. 

Holding  a  book  before  the  class,  ask,  "What 
have  I?"  This,  to  gain  attention.  Now,  tell  the 
children  that  you  will  hold  it  in  tivo  ways,  and  you 
want  them  to  notice  the  two  ways  and  to  tell  you 
about  them.  Hold  the  book  horizontal,  and  let  all 
notice  the  position,  then  hold  it  inclined,  and  let 
them  observe.  Ask  how  it  was  held  the  first  time. 
The  second  time.  You  will  get  a  variety  of 
answers;  but,  probably,  some  one  will  say,  "The 
first  time  it  didn't  tip, — the  next  time  it  tipped." 
Accept  these  answers  for  the  present,  and  let  the 
pupils  hold  books  in  the  two  ways.  See  that  they 
do  it  accurately.  Next  tell  them  that  you  will  give 
them  a  long  word  to  tell  how  the  book  was  the  first 
time.  Give  the  word  "horizontal," — let  it  be  care- 
fully pronounced,  and  spelled  both  phonetically  and 
by  letter.  Again,  hold  the  book  in  the  first  way, 
and  get  the  children  to  say,  "The  book  is  hori- 
zontal" Hold  it  the  second  way,  and  let  them  say, 
"The  book  is  not  horizontal."  Change  this  last 
statement,  and  substitute,  "The  book  is  inclined" 
or,  "The  book  is  oblique"  Let  the  children  point 
out  horizontal  surfaces  and  lines  in  the  room,  tak- 
ing care  to  have  the  same  thing  mentioned  but  once. 
Make  horizontal  and  inclined  lines  on  the  board, 
and  have  them  described.  Let  the  pupils  do  the 
same.  Let  the  pupils  tell  you  of  things  they  have 


54  Pedagogy. 


seen  outside  the  school-room  that  are  horizontal. 
Here  is  matter  enough  suggested  for  several  les- 
sons; do  not  hurry;  introduce  much  variety;  give 
the  pupils  a  good  deal  to  do ;  do  not  let  any 
lesson  exceed  ten  minutes. 

Take  the  word  vertical,  and  treat  it  in  a  similar 
way ;  then  the  word  parallel.  Now  give  little  exer- 
cises, such  as,  ' '  Make  three  parallel,  horizontal 
lines  on  the  board;"  three  ''parallel,  vertical 
lines,"  etc.  Insist  on  having  the  work  well  done; 
lead  the  pupils  to  take  pride  in  doing  it  well ;  let 
them  describe  their  work  in  proper  sentences. 

The  same  general  process  may  be  followed  in 
teaching  a  large  number  of  geometric  terms  or 
forms,  as  angles  of  different  kinds ;  triangles  of 
different  kinds ;  parallelogram,  rectangle,  square, 
sphere,  cube,  etc. 

These  are  only  suggestions, — the  field  is  bound- 
less. 

Hearing. — Methods  somewhat  similar  may  be 
used  for  training  the  sense  of  Hearing,  at  school. 
Children  might  be  allowed  to  report  the  sounds 
they  hear,  as  well  as  the  sights  they  see,  on  the 
way  to  school.  Is  it  not  as  important  that  they 
should  be  able  to  recognize  the  calls  and  the  songs 
of  different  birds,  or  the  chirp  of  different  insects, 
as  it  is  to  know  the  length  of  the  Congo  River,  or 
the  number  of  slain  at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  ? 

Of  course,  successful  hearing,  as  well  as  success- 
ful sight,  depends  primarily  upon  closeness  of 
attention.  But  many  teachers  train  their  pupils  not 


Training  the  Poivers.  55 

to  attend  to  what  they  ought  to  hear.  They  do 
this  by  announcing  lessons  and  issuing  commands 
and  requests  over  and  over  again,  or  by  repeating 
questions  in  recitation,  or  by  meaningless  repeti- 
tions of  answers  given,  as  well  as  in  many  other 
ways. 

Let  the  pupil  once  become  thoroughly  impressed  that  his 
teacher  says  nothing  without  a  meaning, — that  a  clear  state- 
ment once  made  will  not  be  repeated,  but  that  the  school 
will  be  held  responsible  for  hearing  and  observing  it,  and 
much  will  be  done  to  quicken  this  sense. 

As  drawing  should  be  called  in  to  aid  in  training 
sight,  so  music  should  be  used  in  training  hearing. 
In  this  way,  children  may  be  taught  to  distinguish 
and  to  describe  the  pitch  of  tones,  their  varying 
length,  and  the  different  degrees  of  force,  in  connec- 
tion with  their  little  songs.  Nor  is  the  usefulness 
of  such  distinctions  confined  to  singing,  by  any 
means.  Correct  pitch,  and  change  of  pitch  at  will, 
have  as  much  to  do  with  correct  speaking  or  read- 
ing as  with  singing.  The  lifeless,  monotonous 
reading  of  the  dull,  ill-taught  pupil  is  often  due  to 
the  fact  either  that  his  ear  has  not  been  trained  to 
the  distinctions  of  pitch  and  of  power,  or  his 
organs  have  not  been  trained  to  produce  those  dis- 
tinctions. 

In  connection  with  the  training  of  the  ear  and 
the  vocal  organs,  will  come  a  study  of  inflections 
and  slides  of  the  voice,  on  which  expression  so 
largely  depends. 


56  Pedagogy. 


In  all  his  school  work,  the  pupil  should  be 
trained  to  love  and  to  make  clear,  pure  tones.  On 
this  point,  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  used  to  insist  with 
great  earnestness  in  his  lectures  before  teachers'  in- 
stitutes. All  harshness  of  tone,  screaming,  and 
coarse,  nasal  utterance  should  be  banished  from 
the  exercises  of  the  school-room, — not  encouraged, 
as  they  so  often  are,  by  the  unwise  teacher,  whose 
constant  admonition  is,  "  Speak  up  loud."  But 
such  a  teacher  not  only  leads  his  pupils  astray  by 
his  precepts ;  he  generally  does  it  by  his  example 
as  well,  in  the  loud,  harsh,  unnatural  tones  wrhich 
he  uses  in  the  school-room.  The  teacher's  voice 
should  be  perfectly  natural,  smooth,  and  clear,  but 
not  loud  nor  high-pitched. 

We  will  omit  any  discussion  respecting  the  training  of 
the  other  senses,  although  we  believe  something  interesting 
and  useful  is  possible  here. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
TRAINING.  — Continued. 

Memory. — The  Representative  Powers,  in  the 
form  of  Memory  and  Imagination,  awaken  in  the 
child  almost  as  soon  as  the  Perceptives.  The 
child  a  few  months  old  knows  his  mother's  face 
from  that  of  any  other  woman,  which,  of  course, 
can  be  possible  only  as  he  remembers.  In  the 
years  of  childhood,  from  infancy  to  the  age  of 
twelve  or  fourteen,  Memory  is  the  characteris- 
tic faculty.  It  not  only  receives  readily  at  this 
age,  but  it  retains  with  astonishing  tenacity.  Let 
any  one  in  advanced  life  compare  the  readiness 
with  which  he  can  recall  what  was  committed  to 
memory  at  this  age  with  the  difficulty  he  has  in 
recalling  what  he  has  recently  committed.  This  is 
the  period,  then,  for  "  storing  the  mind."  Memory 
is  the  faculty  to  be  especially  trained  and  exercised 
at  this  age. 

In  order  to  train  the  Memory,  the  child  must  be 
made  responsible  for  its  use.  He  must  be  held  to 
remember  what  he  is  told  in  the  way  of  command 
or  direction ;  to  remember  it  exactly,  and  to  observe 
it  accordingly.  He  must  be  held  to  remember  the 
instruction  given  to  him  in  oral  form,  as  well  as 

(57) 


58  Pedagogy. 

that  gained  from  the  book.  So  tenacious  is 
Memory  at  this  period  that  it  easily  seizes  and  re- 
tains mere  words,  although  they  make  no  appeal  to 
the  understanding.  Here  is  the  root  of  the  most 
glaring  evil  in  our  school  work,  especially  with  care- 
less and  ill-trained  teachers.  Mere  words  are 
caught  and  repeated  by  the  pupils;  and  they  are 
glibly  recited,  giving  an  appearance  of  knowledge 
where  none  exists.  Of  course,  this  evil  should  be 
avoided,  but  the  opposite  extreme  of  requiring 
nothing  to  be  committed  in  exact  form  is  still 
worse. 

Special  exercises  to  train  the  memory  are  valu- 
ble;  for  instance,  read  a  short,  pithy  sentence,  and 
require  the  exact  repetition  of  it ;  tell  an  interesting 
story,  and  have  it  reproduced  exactly,  the  next 
day,  etc.  There  is  no  need  to  give  the  child  trash 
to  commit,  simply  to  train  his  memory.  That 
power  may  be  exercised  on  things  worthy  in  them- 
selves as  well  as  in  storing  up  nonsense.  There  is 
much  in  the  child's  lessons  that  should  be  com- 
mitted exactly,  such  as  definitions,  tables,  etc. 

Many  modern  teachers  are  so  impressed  with  the  evil  of 
committing  simply  the  words  of  the  text-book — "  mere  memor- 
izing " — that  they  have  gone  to  the  other  extreme.  Hence,  in 
many  schools,  otherwise  good,  the  Memory  is  neglected  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  pupils  can  not  give  what  they  know  in 
exact  language,  nor  have  they  power  to  fix  exactly  what  they 
strive  to  remember. 

Because  of  the  facility  with  which  mere  words 
are  retained  at  this  time,  it  is  not  unphilosophical 


Training.  59 

to  require  the  pupil  to  commit  to  memory  some 
useful  things  which  he  does  not  fully  understand. 
The  recent  movement  in  favor  of  memorizing 
literary  "gems"  is  worthy  of  all  commendation. 
Nor  need  they  be  fully  understood  at  present. 
Who  can  not  recall  something  of  this  kind,  dropped 
into  his  memory  in  his  childhood,  that  afterwards 
became  a  most  profitable  subject  of  rumination? 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  certain  defects  sometimes  become 
objects  of  personal  vanity,  such  as  a  pale  skin,  defective  eye- 
sight requiring  spectacles,  etc.  It  is  thought  by  silly  young 
people  to  be  fashionable,  and  an  evidence  of  "high-tone,"  to 
have  these  defects.  On  this  ground  we  account  for  the  readi- 
ness with  which  many  people  declare  that  they  are  deficient 
in  the  power  of  memory.  Certain  it  is  that  no  one  possesses 
a  really  good  mind  if  his  memory  is  very  defective.  When 
students  have  come  to  the  author  pleading  complacently  this 
defect  as  a  reason  for  failing  to  retain  their  lessons,  he  has 
sometimes  effectually  cut  off  a  repetition  of  the  excuse  by 
fully  accepting  it,  suggesting  perhaps  that  he  had  long  sus- 
pected that  their  minds  were  not  quite  sound! 

Imagination.  —  During  the  early  years  of  a 
child's  life,  no  power  is  more  active  than  Imagina- 
tion. As  Dr.  Rosenkranz  says :  ' '  The  child  turns 
his  perceptions  into  conceptions,  and  plays  with 
them."  He  bestrides  a  stick,  and  it  becomes  a 
prancing  horse ;  he  ties  together  three  or  four 
chairs,  and  they  are  a  train  of  cars.  The  little  girl 
collects  a  few  broken  bits  of  crockery,  and  they  are 
a  China  tea-set ;  she  ties  up  a  bundle  of  rags,  and 
it  is  a  baby.  Two  or  three  children  come  together, 
and  they  must  "play  bear,"  or  "play  horse,"  or 


60  Pedagogy. 


"play  school,"  etc.  In  the  child's  vocabulary, 
"play"  means  to  exercise  the  Imagination. 

Now,  shall  we,  like  some  unwise  parents  and 
teachers,  reprove  children  for  these  things,  and 
exhort  them  to  be  sensible?  We  may  be  sure  that 
nature  makes  no  mistake  in  this,  any  more  than  in 
other  exhibitions  of  child-life. 

By  entering  into,  and  sympathizing  with,  the 
child's  ideal  life,  the  teacher  or  parent  may  do 
much,  not  only  for  the  child's  amusement,  but  he 
also  may  make  this  a  valuable  means  of  instruction 
and  training;  besides,  in  this  way,  he  may  learn 
more  of  the  child's  inner  nature  than  in  almost  any 
other,  and  do  much  to  establish  those  bonds  of  feel- 
ing between  the  child  and  himself, — so  necessary  to 
his  highest  success  as  the  child's  guide  and  in- 
structor. 

That  prince  of  writers  for  children,  and  for  instructors  of 
children,  Dr.  Jacob  Abbott,  in  his  admirable  work,  "  Gentle 
Measures  in  the  Management  of  the  Young,"  has  an  excellent 
chapter  on  the  Imagination,  which  every  mother  and  teacher 
ought  carefully  to  study.  On  pages  108  and  114  of  the  same 
book  will  be  found  very  interesting  illustrations  of  the  way  in 
which  the  same  faculty  may  be  used  in  the  moral  and  prac- 
tical training  of  children. 

Education  has  for  its  aim  to  lead  the  child  up  to 
true  freedom, — to  a  free  and  right  use  of  his  own 
self-determination, — to  such  a  wise  use  of  his  will 
as  shall  control  circumstances  to  his  own  advantage. 
In  the  early  use  of  his  imagination  is  found  a  most 


Training.  6 1 

important  training  in  this  respect.  Here,  he  is  at 
liberty  to  arrange  and  apply  things  as  he  chooses, 
untrammeled  by  the  conditions  of  stern  reality. 
This  freedom  of  will  constitutes  the  principal  charm 
of  such  "play. "  Here,  doubtless,  we  find  an  ex- 
planation for  curious  facts  which  every  careful 
observer  of  children  must  have  noticed. 

If  a  little  girl  has  several  dolls, — a  fine  China  one,  an  ordi- 
narily good  one,  and  a  poor,  dirty,  mutilated  "rag  baby," — 
she  will  probably  prize  the  last  most  highly  of  all.  The 
reason  is,  that  she  can  do  whatever  she  pleases  with  this  one. 
If  a  boy  has  a  present  of  a  jumping-jack  and  a  ball,  he  will  at 
first  be  much  more  interested  in  the  funny  toy.  But  soon  his 
interest  in  the  jumping-jack  will  die  out,  while  the  ball  will 
grow  more  precious  every  day. 

But  the  highest  use  of  Imagination,  for  child  or 
man,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  alone  gives  an  ideal 
of  excellence  in  what  one  is  to  do  or  to  be  ;  without 
such  an  ideal,  progress  is  hardly  conceivable. 

The  Reflective  Powers. — We  will  spend  little 
time  in  speaking  of  the  Reflective  Powers,  Reason- 
ing, etc.;  not  because  these  are  not  important,  but 
because  early  youth  is  no  time  to  attempt  an  ex- 
tensive training  of  these  powers.  To  be  sure,  even 
a  little  child  has  some  tendency  and  ability  to  draw 
inferences,  to  study  the  relations  of  cause  and 
effect,  and  such  efforts  may  be  encouraged  and 
directed  to  a  limited  extent.  But  a  common  mis- 
take is  to  endeavor  to  train  the  reflective  power  be- 
fore its  time,  and  to  neglect  other  powers  that  are 


62  Pedagogy. 


in  a  stage  of  development  which  calls  for  the 
teacher's  best  efforts. 

The  Sensibility. — Passing  to  the  training  of  the 
Sensibility,  we  say  that  the  teacher's  success  or 
failure  in  the  most  valuable  part  of  his  work  will  be 
largely  determined  by  his  power  or  weakness  in 
this  field.  It  is  through  the  Sensibility  that 
motives  to  action  are  furnished,  and  character  is 
formed.  Even  the  highest  intellectual  success  is 
impossible,  unless  the  Emotions  are  enlisted  in  be- 
half of  the  work  attempted.  No  child  is  likely  to 
make  much  progress  in  a  study  which  he  thor- 
oughly dislikes,  especially  if  he  dislike  his  teacher 
at  the  same  time.  Even  the  mature  man  finds  his 
intellect  will  work  with  redoubled  power  and  suc- 
cess when  the  glow  of  emotion  accompanies  its 
action. 

LOVE. — The  child's  love  for  good  things,  for  his 
fellows,  and  for  his  teacher,  must  be  carefully 
trained  and  strengthened.  Here  is  a  worthy  field 
for  the  power  of  the  teacher  with  the  wisest  head 
and  the  noblest  heart.  But  it  is  no  place  for  pre- 
tense or  sham  ;  all  work  here  must  be  genuine.  If 
you  wish  to  awaken  the  child's  love  for  yourself, 
expect  it  only  in  return  for  genuine  love  for  him. 
Stage  smiles  and  honeyed  words,  with  no  heart 
back  of  them,  will  not  serve.  It  is  easier  to  de- 
ceive a  grown  person  than  a  child  in  this  respect. 
In  the  old  poem,  the  child  says : 

"  I  do  not  love  thee,  Doctor  Fell ; 
The  reason  why  I  can  not  tell." 


Training.  63 

No  doubt,  there  was  a  good  reason  which  the 
child  felt,  although  she  could  not  tell  it.  And  we 
suspect  that  an  equally  good  reason  generally  exists 
for  the  child's  personal  likes  and  dislikes. 

But,  perhaps,  some  teacher  is  ready  to  say, 
"Well,  it  is  of  no  use;  I  never  did  love  children, 
and  I  can  not, — at  least,  I  can  not  love  uninterest- 
ing and  disagreeable  children."  Then,  we  say,  you 
ought  to  do  one  of  two  things :  either  set  about 
acquiring  this  power  at  once,  or  forever  forego  any 
attempt  to  teach  children.  One  of  the  surest  ways 
to  develop  a  love  for  any  person  or  thing  is  to 
make  that  person  or  thing  the  object  of  your 
special  care,  interest,  and  effort.  If  persistence  in 
such  a  course  will  not  beget  a  love  for  its  object, 
we  think  the  case  is  hopeless. 

HATE. — But  the  child's  capacity  to  hate  or  dislike 
needs  attention,  as  well  as  its  opposite.  We  re- 
member with  wrhat  earnestness  and  effect  an  old 
associate  of  ours  used  to  say  to  his  pupils:  "  Boys, 
hate  mean  things."  That  they  have  not  been 
trained  to  hate  mean  things  is  the  trouble  of  to-day 
with  too  many  of  our  boys,  and  girls  as  well.  But 
the  child  should  be  carefully  shown  that  the  hatred 
of  mean  things  must  not  be  allowed  to  pass  over 
into  a  hatred  of  the  persons  who  do  them.  We 
fear  it  will  often  be  found  that  many  who  declaim 
loudly  against  wrong,  after  all  feel  more  bitter 
toward  those  who  do  the  wrong  than  they  do 
towards  the  wrong  done.  The  child  should  be 
taught  that  hatred  towards  persons  is  never  right. 


64  Pedagogy. 


APPETITES  AND  DESIRES. — Little  ever  needs  to  be 
done  to  strengthen  the  appetites  and  desires  of  the 
child.  But  no  part  of  his  education  needs  more 
earnest  care  than  that  by  which  he  gains  the  power 
to  regulate  them.  And  here  the  skillful  teacher  can 
do  much,  in  ways  that  love  and  tact  will  indicate, 
to  train  the  pupil  so  that  his  appetites  and  desires 
may  be  used  to  minister  to  his  well-being  and  to 
his  innocent  gratification,  instead  of  leading  him 
down  to  the  level  of  the  brute,  or  below  it. 

ADMIRATION. — The  child's  power  of  admiration, 
and  his  tendency  to  admire,  demand  careful  atten- 
tion. Owing  to  the  activity  of  imagination  in  chil- 
dren, the  persons  that  seem  to  them  admirable  are 
esteemed  to  be  perfect.  Children  are  born  hero- 
worshipers.  And  the  things  that  they  admire  are 
likely  to  be  thought  "  altogether  lovely."  There  is 
a  psychological  reason  why,  in  the  vocabulary  of 
young  persons,  "  splendid"  and  "horrid"  exhaust 
the  list  of  descriptive  adjectives  so  often.  Now, 
because  admiration  always  contains  the  element  of 
approval,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  one's  character  is 
likely  to  be  indicated  by  the  persons  and  things  he 
admires ;  not  only  is  his  present  character  indicated 
in  this  way,  but  his  future  character  is  largely  de- 
termined as  well.  In  the  admiration  that  boys  con- 
ceive for  the  characters  depicted  in  the  robbers  and 
Indian  killers  of  the  wretched  "dime"  literature  of 
the  day,  lies  the  chief  danger  of  the  poisonous  stuff. 
And  the  young  girl's  admiration  of  the  vain,  vapid 
character  of  the  heroine  in  the  trashy  novel  she 


Training.  65 

reads,  is  likely  to  work  lasting  injury  to  her,  for 
the  same  reason.  There  is  little  danger  threatening 
the  character  of  any  young  person  whose  admira- 
tion is  thoroughly  fixed  on  such  things  only  as  are 
"pure,  honest,  lovely,  and  of  good  report." 

REVERENCE. — There  is  special  need  in  this  coun- 
try, and  in  this  age,  that  the  Reverence  of  children 
should  be  trained.  In  the  abounding  life  and  free- 
dom of  this  new  country,  we  seem  to  forget,  to  a 
great  extent,  that  there  is  any  thing  to  be  treated 
with  reverence  and  respect.  And  it  is  a  serious 
question  whether  this  tendency  is  not  on  the  in- 
crease. Much  of  the  flippant  nonsense  in  our 
newspapers  that  passes  for  wit  would  lose  all  its 
point  if  the  irreverence  were  taken  out  of  it.  And 
the  children  and  youth  are  not  slow  to  imitate  the 
example  of  their  elders.  The  "old  man,"  or  the 
"governor,"  is  the  boy's  frequent  appellation  for 
his  father,  nor  does  the  "old  woman"  signify  the 
mother  much  less  frequently.  Similar  disrespectful 
terms  are  ready  to  apply  to  men  and  women  who, 
by  age,  or  character,  or  position,  should  be  treated 
with  special  respect. 

The  reverent  attitude  of  mind  or  speech,  toward 
God  or  man,  seems  to  be  very  unpopular  just  now. 
This  fact  does  not  augur  well  for  the  future,  and 
the  best  efforts  of  our  schools  should  be  turned  to 
its  correction. 

We  remember  when  our  teacher,  in  the  old  country  school 
in  New  England,  used  to  teach  us  to  meet  her  with  a  re- 
spectful "good  morning,"  and  to  leave  her  with  a  gentle 

Fed.— 6. 


66  Pedagogy. 


"good  night."  She  also  taught  us  to  stand  by  the  road-side 
and  lift  our  hats  when  we  met  travelers.  It  is  possible  we 
might  return  to  some  old-fashioned  ways  with  profit.  It  is 
often  said  that  we  must  put  into  our  schools  whatever  we 
desire  to  have  in  the  thinking  and  in  the  behavior  of  our 
people.  Is  this  not  true  ?  And  if  this  is  so,  must  we  not 
look  to  our  schools  to  train  their  pupils  in  reverence  and 
respect  if  we  would  see  less  of  the  roughness,  vulgarity,  and 
rowdyism  that  now  disgrace  us  as  a  people,  and  make 
thoughtful  men  fear  for  the  future  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TRAINING.  — Concluded. 

WE  will  close  our  discussion  of  the  training  of 
the  child's  powers  by  saying  something  about  the 
training  of  the  Conscience,  the  Will,  and  the  powers 
of  Attention  and  Conception.  Let  the  reader  first 
turn  back  to  Chapter  IV,  and  study  carefully  the 
definitions  of  these  powers. 

The  Conscience. — Conscience  makes  us  feel  that 
we  ought  to  do  what  we  think  is  right,  and  to  let 
alone  what  we  think  is  wrong.  How  shall  this  feel- 
ing be  cultivated  and  made  stronger?  In  the  same 
way  as  every  other  power  is  cultivated  and  strength- 
ened,— by  use.  Every  time  that  the  voice  of  con- 
science is  heard  and  heeded,  it  gains  strength  to 
speak  with  more  clearness  the  next  time.  Every 
time  it  is  disregarded,  it  is  shorn  of  some  of  its 
power ;  this  may  be  continued  until  conscience  will 
sleep  quietly  while  one  does  things  that  would 
once  have  caused  the  keenest  anguish.  Thus,  con- 
science becomes  "  seared  as  with  a  hot  iron."  It 
withers  and  decays  like  an  unused  muscle.  And 
yet,  sometimes,  after  a  long  slumber,  it  wakes  up 
with  a  fearful  power,  and  stings  like  a  scorpion — 

this  is  remorse. 

(67) 


68  Pedagogy. 


Let  the  parent  and  teacher  make  frequent  ap- 
peals to  the  child's  conscience, — press  upon  him  the 
word  ought  in  all  the  fullness  of  its  meaning.  If 
there  is  any  doubt  as  to  whether  one  ought,  or 
ought  not,  to  do  a  certain  thing,  the  only  safe  way 
is  to  give  conscience  "the  benefit  of  the  doubt." 
No  child  is  too  young  for  such  an  appeal,  for  con- 
science begins  its  work  almost  as  soon  as  the 
earliest  perceptive  powers.  "Is  it  right?"  "Then 
ought  you  to  do  it?"  These  are  questions  that  the 
youngest  will  appreciate,  and  it  is  sad  that  such 
questions  so  often  give  place  to  mere  appeals  to 
expediency,  or  self-interest,  or  pride.  In  view  of 
this  fact,  it  is  not  strange  that  so  few  grown  per- 
sons are  able  to  stand  boldly  for  what  they  believe 
to  be  right,  even  if  they  have  to  stand  alone. 
How  can  the  moral  fiber  be  otherwise  than  flabby 
if  it  has  never  been  strengthened? 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  question,  whether 
it  is  always  right  to  follow  conscience.  The  case  seems  to  be 
a  very  plain  one.  We  can  not  conceive  that  one  could  be 
justified  in  violating  his  conscience, — in  doing  what  he  be- 
lieves to  be  wrong.  And  yet  it  must  be  granted  that,  owing  to 
a  wrong  judgment,  conscience  may  prompt  to  an  act  wrong  in 
itself.  Where,  then,  is  the  responsibility  ?  Can  one  be 
blamed  for  doing  such  an  act  ?  Surely,  he  can  not  be  blamed 
for  following  his  conscience;  but  if  his  wrong  judgment  is  due 
to  any  fault  of  his,  then  he  is  to  be  blamed  for  thinking  that 
wrong  is  right. 

Moral  Training.  —  If  morality  is  any  thing 
more  than  refined  self-interest,  then  the  cultivation 


Training.  69 

of  conscience  must  lie  at  the  basis  of  all  right 
moral  training.  The  psychological  elements  of 
morality  are  four  in  number,  viz.:  the  intuitive  idea, 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  right ;  the  judgment, 
which  determines  whether  any  particular  thing  is 
right ;  conscience,  that  moves  us  towards  the  right ; 
and  the  will,  that  chooses  or  refuses  the  right.  All 
true  moral  training  must  have  regard  to  all  these ; 
it  must  recognize  the  underlying  idea ;  it  must  train 
the  judgment;  it  must  appeal  to  conscience;  and  if: 
must  lead  the  will  to  the  proper  choice. 

That  such  moral  training  should  receive  much 
attention  in  school  can  not  be  questioned  ;  character 
is  more  than  intellectual  power  or  acquisition. 
That  such  training  is  too  much  neglected  is  lament- 
ably true.  But,  perhaps,  it  is  not  very  easy  to  tell 
how  such  training  should  be  given.  We  may  say, 
negatively,  that  merely  reading  books  on  morals, 
even  the  Bible  itself,  will  not  give  it;  nor  will  the 
teaching  of  a  religious  creed,  even  the  soundest; 
nor  will  a  discussion  of  moral  questions,  nor  long 
lectures  on  morals,  nor  any  amount  of  namby- 
pamby,  goodish  exhortation.  It  must  be  genuine 
training  as  the  term  has  already  been  defined. 
Generally,  such  training  will  not  follow  any  set 
lessons  in  morals.  It  must  be  brought  about  by 
putting  conscience  into  all  that  is  done;  and  the 
teacher  who  would  succeed  in  doing  this  with  his 
pupils  must  be  a  living  example  before  their  eyes. 

Moral  lessons  may  be  drawn  incidentally  from  the  lessons 
in  reading  or  history  ;  sometimes,  a  story  may  be  told,  or  a 


70  Pedagogy. 


case  supposed,  from  which  a  moral  lesson  may  be  taught 
effectively.  Gow's  "Good  Morals  and  Gentle  Manners  "  is  a 
book  that  may  be  of  much  service  to  the  teacher  in  such 
work. 

Let  specific  lessons  be  given,  not  according  to 
the  programme,  but  as  occasion  for  them  arises. 
Has  the  teacher  discovered  that  his  boys  play 
marbles  for  "  keeps?"  Here  is  a  call  for  such  a 
lesson.  Let  him  take  the  winner,  at  some  quiet 
and  convenient  time,  and  ply  him  with  questions 
something  like  the  following,  after  the  manner  of 
old  Socrates :  Whose  are  those  fine  marbles  ? 
Whose  were  they?  Did  John  care  any  thing  for 
them?  What  did  you  give  him  for  them?  What 
made  you  play  with  him  for  them  ?  Was  not  the 
reason  because  you  wanted  to  get  what  John 
owned  and  cared  for,  without  giving  him  any  thing 
valuable  for  it?  Is  this  the  reason  why  gamblers 
play  their  games?  Is  it  the  thing  that  makes  men 
steal?  That  makes  them  cheat?  That  makes  them 
commit  murder  sometimes  ?  How  much  dishonesty 
would  there  be  in  the  world  if  no  one  ever  had 
such  a  wish  as  this?  Then,  can  this  be  right? 

We  think  such  an  appeal,  if  skillfully  and  kindly 
made,  could  hardly  fail  to  convince  the  judgment 
and  to  move  the  conscience.  In  a  similar  way, 
other  principles  of  morality  should  be  treated,  as 
occasion  calls  for  the  treatment. 

The  Will. — A  man  with  a  weak  will  is  a  pitiable 
object.  It  is  the  will  that  gives  one  his  moving 
force ;  that  makes  him  a  power  rather  than  a  mere 


Training.  7 1 

helpless  thing.  One  who  lacks  will  power  is  like  a 
log  floating  at  the  mercy  of  the  current ;  while  one 
with  a  strong  will  is  like  a  steamboat,  that  can  not 
only  stem  the  current,  but  can  make  headway 
against  it.  There  is  no  danger  that  one  will  have 
too  much  will,  if  only  it  is  joined  with  right  motives 
and  sound  judgment.  The  man  of  strong  will  is 
not  necessarily  willful  in  the  bad  use  of  that  word. 
A  man  of  strong  will  need  not  be  mulish. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  question 
whether  a  child's  "will  should  be  broken?"  The 
answer  turns  wholly  upon  what  is  meant  by 
"breaking"  the  will.  If  by  this  is  meant  simply 
that  the  child  must  be  taught  to  bend  his  will  to 
rightful  authority,  then  it  is  one  of  the  first  lessons 
to  be  learned  ;  it  is  an  act  of  the  greatest  kindness 
to  the  child  to  break  his  will  in  this  sense.  But  if, 
by  breaking  the  will,  we  mean  to  destroy  its  power, 
or  to  diminish  it,  then  it  is  a  heinous  crime  to  do 
it.  For,  one  with  his  will  broken,  in  this  sense,  is 
like  a  watch  with  the  mainspring  broken.  Instead 
of  this,  special  effort  should  be  made  to  strengthen 
the  child's  wrill  power.  Use  all  reasonable  means 
to  lead  him  to  cease  saying  "I  can't,"  and  to  culti- 
vate the  habit  of  saying  "I  can"  and  "I  will." 
Of  course,  he  should  be  taught  to  judge  rightly  as 
to  whether  a  thing  ought  to  be  done  before  he 
says,  "I  will  do  it."  Even  kindly  ridicule  or 
gentle  sarcasm  may  be  used  with  good  effect  here, 
and  sometimes  resort  may  well  be  had  to  something 
a  little  more  vigorous. 


72  Pedagogy. 


We  remember  when  a  certain  teacher  sent  a  young  woman 
to  the  blackboard,  and  she,  after  a  feeble  effort,  whimpered 
out,  "I  don't  think  I  can  do  it."  "You  can"  thundered  the 
teacher,  with  a  stamp  of  his  foot.  She  hastily  snatched  a 
tear  from  the  corner  of  each  eye,  and  did  the  work.  We 
believe  that  discipline  was  a  "means  of  grace"  to  that 
young  woman. 

But,  in  addition  to  direct  efforts  to  strengthen 
the  child's  will,  we  want  to  say  very  earnestly  that 
neither  parents  nor  teacher  should  thwart  his  will, 
except  for  a  good  reason.  Many  a  will  has  been 
weakened,  if  not  wholly  destroyed,  because  his 
teacher  or  parent,  thoughtlessly  or  wantonly,  has 
trampled  on  his  wishes  and  desires  and  purposes 
until  sullenness  or  despair  has  resulted. 

Attention  must  accompany  every  successful 
mental  effort.  There  are  two  ways  in  which  the 
man  may  be  led  to  give  attention:  one  is  by  at- 
tracting it,  so  that  he  attends  without  effort;  the 
other,  by  inducing  him  to  attend  through  sheer 
force  of  his  will  power.  The  attention  of  the  child 
can  be  gained  in  the  first  way  only.  It  can  be  at- 
tracted and  held  for  a  short  time  only ;  but  his  will 
is  not  strong  enough  to  enable  him  to  attend 
against  his  inclination,  nor  after  he  has  become 
weary.  And  yet  he  must  attend,  if  he  is  to  do 
any  thing  to  any  purpose.  Nor  can  his  attention 
be  secured  by  frequent  calls  for  attention,  nor  even 
by  authority.  It  must  be  attracted  at  first,  and 
its  object  must  be  changed  frequently.  It  is  a 
gradual  process,  by  which  he  gets  the  power  to 


Training.  73 

command  his  attention,  and  this  power  must  be 
gained  by  a  judicious  course  of  training. 

To  secure  this  training,  let  the  teacher  be  careful 
to  make  no  statement  to  the  child,  make  no  expla- 
nation, lay  no  command,  etc.,  until  he  knows  in 
his  own  mind,  with  perfect  clearness,  what  he 
means  to  say;  then  let  him  say  it  slowly,  clearly, 
in  few  words,  and  say  it  but  once.  Then  let  him 
insist  rigidly  that  what  is  thus  given  shall  be  re- 
membered and  observed. 

Let  the  teacher  form  the  habit  of  never  speaking 
to  his  school,  his  class,  or  to  a  single  pupil,  until 
he  has  complete  attention,  and  let  him  stop  speak- 
ing the  instant  attention  wanders.  In  this  way, 
every  thing  that  is  done  in  school  will  be  an  exer- 
cise in  training  the  attention ;  but,  occasionally, 
special  exercises  for  this  purpose  alone  may  be  in- 
troduced. Let  the  teacher  recite  a  sentence,  to  be 
repeated  exactly ;  let  him  give  directions  for  certain 
movements  to  be  made,  and  then  require  an  exact 
performance,  etc.  By  such  processes,  and  others 
that  a  thoughtful  and  ingenious  teacher  will  dis- 
cover, the  child  is  trained  until  his  attention  will 
obey  his  will  promptly,  fully,  and  successfully. 
When  this  is  done,  he  is  on  the  high  road  to  the 
attainment  of  both  knowledge  and  power. 

Conception. — A  bright  mind  is  one  whose  Con- 
ceptive  Power  is  clear  and  strong.  Dullness  results 
from  lack  of  this  power.  "  Parrot"  recitations  are 
of  words  without  the  accompanying  conceptions. 
Mechanical  reading  is  calling  over  words,  in  this 

Fed.— 7. 


74  Pedagogy. 


way,  from  a  book.  Mechanical,  meaningless  math- 
ematical work  is  the  blind  following  of  rules  while 
the  conceptive  power  is  asleep.  Much  of  our 
school  work,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  is  performed  in 
such  a  way  as  to  put  this  power  to  sleep  ;  and  the 
more  we  work  with  tongue,  or  pen,  or  hand  while 
conception  sleeps,  the  more  soundly  it  will  sleep 
while  we  thus  work.  This  is  the  process  by  which 
many  little  children,  who  entered  school  bright, 
keen,  and  inquisitive,  are  made  dull  and  stupid 
after  going  a  few  months.  We  believe  compara- 
tively few  teachers  understand  the  relative  import- 
ance of  this  power,  or  how  to  arouse  and  train  it. 

A  really  ''lively"  school  exercise  of  any  kind  is 
not  to  be  measured  by  the  noise  made,  nor  by  the 
amount  of  manual  activity,  but  by  the  fullness  and 
clearness  of  the  conceptive  power  used.  No  read- 
ing by  older  or  younger  pupils  will  be  correct, — 
except,  perhaps,  with  the  correctness  of  mechanical 
imitation, — until  conception  gives  life  to  the  words 
spoken.  No  geography  lesson  is  worth  any  thing 
that  does  not  fill  the  mind  with  correct  and  lively 
pictures.  No  mathematical  work  is  any  thing  but  a 
mechanical  "grind"  till  the  pupil  "sees"  the  rela- 
tion of  the  parts  with  his  "mind's  eye." 

Imagination,  as  we  have  already  defined  the  term, 
is  the  exercise  of  the  conceptive  power  in  one  of 
its  forms;  hence,  the  pedagogic  value  of  a  judicious 
use  of  the  imagination.  But  the  conceptive  power 
has  its  part  to  play  in  understanding  and  reasoning, 
as  well  as  in  memory  and  imagination.  All  our 


Training.  75 

school  work,  from  the  lowest  grade  to  the  highest, 
should  recognize  this  fact,  and  the  true  use  of  the 
power  of  conception  should  be  observed  in  every 
school  exercise. 

We  have  been  able  to  give  only  a  few  hints  in  regard  to 
the  training  of  the  powers,  but  the  thoughtful  teacher  will 
readily  see  that  this  training  is  his  great  work — it  alone  treats 
the  mind  like  a  living  organism ;  while  a  mere  acquiring  of 
knowledge,  a  storing  of  the  memory,  treats  it  like  a  dead 
receptacle. 


1.  Physical. 

2.  Intellectual. 
5.  KINDS  OF  EDUCATION, 

3.  Moral. 

4.  Spiritual? 


Kinds  of  Education. — We  have  now  completed 
what  we  have  to  say  directly  about  training  the 
mental  powers.  We  have  also  tried  to  show  what 
education  really  is.  We  often  speak  of  different 
kinds  of  education.  Education  is  divided  into 
kinds  or  sorts,  according  to  two  different  ideas.  If 
we  consider  it  in  relation  to  its  end,  or  purpose, 
we  have  two  sorts ;  viz. ,  General  and  Special. 
These  were  defined  and  explained  in  Chapter  V. 
If  we  consider  the  different  powers  to  be  educated, 
we  have  Physical,  Intellectual,  Moral,  and  perhaps 
Spiritual,  education. 


76  Pedagogy. 


Of  course,  physical  education  has  to  do  with  the 
powers  of  the  body ;  its  aim  is  to  produce  health, 
strength,  and  dexterity. 

Intellectual  education  has  to  do  with  those  powers 
by  which  we  know ;  its  purpose  is  to  give  skill  and 
certainty  in  acquiring  facts,  in  remembering  them, 
and  in  discovering  their  true  significance  and  rela- 
tion. 

Moral  education  has  to  do  with  the  training  of 
those  powers  by  which  we  come  to  know  the 
right,  to  love  it,  and  to  choose  and  follow  it.  We 
have  already  discussed  this  at  some  length. 

Spiritual  education,  if  there  be  such  as  distinct 
from  moral  education,  means  the  growth  and  culti- 
vation of  the  divine  life  begun  in  the  human  soul 
by  the  renewing  effect  of  a  Divine  Power:  it  is 
what  the  minister  calls  "  growth  in  grace." 

In  all  these  forms  of  education,  the  general 
method  is  the  same ;  viz. ,  By  the  wise  use  of  the 
powers  involved,  to  induce  desired  habits. 

PHYSICAL  EDUCATION. — Intellectual  education  is, 
without  doubt,  the  main  purpose  of  our  schools, 
but  it  should  not  be  the  only  purpose,  as  many 
seem  to  suppose.  Both  physical  and  moral  educa- 
tion should  receive  careful  attention  in  all  our 
schools.  The  pupil  should  be  taught  to  use  his 
body  rightly  in  sitting,  standing,  walking,  etc. 
The  body  is  the  mind's  instrument  and  servant; 
through  it  alone  can  the  mind  be  acted  upon  from 
without,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  the  only 
medium  through  which  the  mind  can  manifest 


Training.  77 

itself.  For  this  reason,  it  is  very  important  that  the 
body  should  be  so  trained  that  it  may  serve  the 
mind  efficiently  and  faithfully;  hence,  the  import- 
ance of  physical  culture.  But  it  is  well  to  remem- 
ber always  that  physical  strength  and  dexterity  are 
to  be  sought  as  means  to  an  end, — not  as  an  end 
in  themselves.  When  physical  training  is  made  an 
end  in  itself,  as  in  the  case  of  the  professional 
athlete,  prize-fighter,  etc.,  it  not  only  is  a  very  un- 
worthy end,  but  it  seems  to  defeat  its  own  purpose. 
Very  few  prize-fighters,  gymnasts,  or  oarsmen 
retain  vigorous  health  till  old  age;  in  truth,  few  of 
them  reach  old  age. 

Education  Certain. — ^Before  turning  to  another 
subject,  we  wish  to  say  that  an  education  of  some 
kind  is  inevitable — we  must  be  educated.  "Education 
is  cultured  growth," — if  the  child  lives,  his  powers 
will  grow,  and  their  growth  will  be  modified  by  the 
influences  that  surround  him.  Hence,  there  is  no 
escape  from  education  but  by  death  or  insanity. 
So,  the  choice  is  not  between  a  good  education  and 
no  education,  but  between  a  good  education  and  a 
bad  one.  If  the  child's  growing  powers  are  not 
trained  as  they  should  be  at  home,  at  school,  at 
church,  etc.,  they  will  be  sure  to  be  trained  as  they 
should  not  be,  elsewhere.  Not  all  our  schools  are 
in  school-houses,  under  teachers  licensed  by  the 
superintendents  and  paid  by  public  funds.  There 
are  schools  in  the  streets,  on  dry  goods  boxes,  in 
saloons,  and  in  worse  places.  They  are  well  sup- 
plied with  teachers ;  they  have  no  vacations ;  and 


78  Pedagogy. 


they  send  their  graduates  out  by  swarms.  Some 
of  these  graduates  tax  the  state  much  more  heavily 
to  pay  for  courts,  and  prisons,  and  poor-houses 
than  they  would  to  have  provided  them  with  the 
best  possible  education  at  the  public  expense. 

Any  thoughtful  person  who  walks  the  crowded  streets,  in 
the  more  degraded  portions  of  our  large  cities,  must  have 
some  very  important  questions  thrust  upon  him.  As  he  ob- 
serves the  swarming  multitudes  of  little  children,  unclean  and 
unkempt,  too  young  to  attend  the  public  schools,  he  must  ask 
himself  if  it  would  not  be  cheaper  to  care  for  these  unfortu- 
nates while  they  are  children  than  to  attempt  to  restrain  and 
punish  them  when  they  are  fully  developed  into  the  hardened 
criminals  that  so  many  of  them  are  sure  to  become.  Would 
it  not  cost  less  money  to  make  the  attempt  to  form  them 
rightly  than  it  will  to  reform  them,  or  to  punish  them  when 
they  have  received  the  education  that  all  their  present  sur- 
roundings tend  to  give  them  ? 

Acting  on  this  thought,  one  of  the  wisest  schemes  of 
modern  private  philanthrophy  is  the  establishment  of  kinder- 
gartens for  these  neglected  waifs.  But  would  it  not  be  wise 
economy  for  the  public  to  bear  the  expense  of  kindergartens 
for  this  purpose  from  the  public  funds?  This  question  de- 
mands public  attention  and  discussion.  We  have  no  doubt 
about  the  true  answer. 

The  resources  of  a  state  are  not  confined  to  its 
mineral  wealth,  its  fertile  soil,  its  navigable  waters, 
etc.  The  mental  and  moral  power  of  its  rising 
generation  outweighs  them  all ;  if  educated  and 
directed  rightly,  it  will  do  more  to  advance  the 
state  in  every  kind  of  prosperity,  material  wealth 
included.  But,  if  badly  educated,  it  is  not  simply 
so  much  power  and  wealth  lost,  but  it  becomes  a 


Training.  79 

negative  quantity, — a  power  for  evil  and  waste. 
If  this  is  true,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  the  state  is  not 
bound  to  spend  all  necessary  sums  for  any  and  all 
appliances  which  shall  tend  to  educate  the  powers 
of  its  youth  rightly;  quite  as  much,  to  say  the 
least,  as  it  is  bound  to  foster  mining,  agriculture, 
commerce,  and  other  things  that  tend  directly  to 
develop  its  material  resources. 

Here  is  the  strongest  argument  for  high  schools  and  col- 
leges which  shall  offer  the  fullest  education  to  all,  at  the  pub- 
lic cost.  Among  the  lowly  and  the  poor  is  to  be  found,  in  the 
germ,  some  of  the  best  directive  ability  in  the  state.  The 
state  can  not  afford  to  lose  this  ability  simply  because  private 
purses  can  not  provide  the  means  for  its  development.  The 
richest  products  of  any  state,  estimated  even  on  a  pecuniary 
basis  alone,  are  its  best  men  and  women.  It  is  time  that  we 
had  done  with  that  narrow  view  which  sees  in  public  educa- 
tion only  the  means  of  fitting  the  young  for  some  imaginary 
"sphere,"  or  the  mere  preparing  of  the  future  citizen  to  cast 
his  ballot  without  danger  to  the  commonwealth. 


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CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    TEACHER. 

THE  most  important  factor  in  any  school,  or  sys- 
tem of  education,  is  the  teacher  who  directs  its 
daily  operations.  If  he  be  able,  well -trained,  and 
efficient,  good  results  may  be  confidently  expected, 
even  though  much  be  wanting.  But,  if  the  teacher 
be  seriously  deficient,  nothing  can  supply  the  lack. 
People  seem  to  forget  this  truth  sometimes,  and  to 
think  that  if  the  buildings  be  grand  and  good,  if 
the  apparatus  be  abundant,  if  the  system  be  the 
best,  the  result  must  be  satisfactory,  let  the  teacher 
be  what  he  may.  A  moment's  reflection  ought  to 
show  the  unwisdom  of  any  such  expectation. 

His  Motives. — Let  us,  then,  consider  some  of 
the  things  belonging  to  a  good  teacher.  And  we 
will  begin  by  asking,  What  are  proper  motives  to 
prompt  him  to  take  up  this  work  ?  We  will  men- 
tion three :  a  desire  to  do  good,  a  love  for  the  work, 
and  money. 

A  DESIRE  TO  DO  GOOD. — One  who  has  no  desire 
to  do  good,  who  cares  not  whether  he  does  any 
thing  to  benefit  the  world,  is  not  likely  to  be  worth 
much  in  any  calling ;  certainly  he  is  not  fit  to  teach 
the  young.  One  who  does  faithfully  any  work  that 

(81) 


82  Pedagogy. 


the  world  needs  does  good  and  deserves  honor. 
But  there  are  few  occupations  in  which  one  can  do 
more  to  bless  his  fellows  than  in  wisely  developing 
and  training  the  powers  of  the  rising  generation. 
And  if  one  believes  himself  able  to  do  such  work 
successfully,  the  wish  to  serve  the  world  in  this 
way  is  a  noble  motive  to  prompt  him  to  undertake 
the  work. 

LOVE  FOR  THE  WORK. — One  will  do  any  work 
better  if  he  loves  to  do  it;  but  there  are  some 
kinds  of  coarse,  physical  labor,  like  digging  ditches, 
etc.,  that  we  suppose  one  might  do  well  even  if  he 
disliked  them.  This  is  not  true  of  the  higher 
kinds  of  work,  and  certainly  it  is  not  true  of  teach- 
ing. We  do  not  mean,  of  course,  that  a  teacher 
must  love  every  thing  connected  with  his  work. 
All  work  has  its  drudgery,  and  teaching  is  no  ex- 
ception. But  the  teacher  should  have  such  a 
genuine  love  for  his  work  as  a  whole  that  it  will 
enable  him  to  bear  the  drudgery,  and  to  do  it  faith- 
fully, without  being  enslaved  by  it. 

PAY. — We  shall  find  people  who  are  ready  to 
declare  that  the  two  motives  named  are  enough, 
and  that  it  is  degrading  to  let  the  thought  of 
money  have  any  weight.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
shall  find  those  who  will  sneer  at  these  motives, 
and  avow  boldly  that  they  care  nothing  for  ideals 
or  sentiment, — they  are  practical,  and  money  is  the 
only  motive  that  should  have  any  weight.  Now, 
the  truth  is  with  neither  extreme.  We  should 
cherish  our  ideals,  if  they  are  noble ;  in  no  other 


The   Teacher.  83 


way  can  we  avoid  falling  into  sordidness.  But 
there  are  good  and  honorable  reasons  why  a  teacher 
may  regard  his  pecuniary  compensation  as  a  proper 
motive,  and  insist  that  it  shall  be  reasonable  in 
amount. 

First. — The  teacher  has  wants  which  he  can  not 
honestly  supply,  as  a  general  thing,  unless  he  re- 
ceive money  for  his  work.  Few  can  afford  to 
work  for  nothing,  even  if  so  disposed. 

Second. — Justice  requires  that  he  should  receive 
pay  for  his  work:  the  world  is  so  constituted  that 
those  who  give  ought  to  receive. 

Third. — People  do  not  prize  highly  that  which 
costs  them  nothing.  Even  our  bountiful  Creator 
has  arranged  it  so  that  his  gifts  mostly  come  in  re- 
sponse to  our  efforts.  If  the  farmer  expect  a  crop, 
he  must  toil  for  it.  If  the  student  desire  knowl- 
edge and  culture,  he  must  put  forth  his  efforts,  or 
his  desires  are  futile.  Sunlight,  air,  and,  in  some 
places,  water  are  about  the  only  gifts  bestowed 
upon  us  without  some  sort  of  expenditure  on  our 
part.  And  it  is  better  so ;  it  is  more  truly  charita- 
ble to  help  the  pauper  to  help  himself  than  it  is  to 
bestow  a  gift  upon  him.  It  is  neither  just,  benev- 
olent, nor  wise  to  give  good  things  to  those  ^vho  can 
pay  for  them  but  will  not.  Hence,  the  good  teacher 
is  right  when  he  demands  that  the  community 
which  receives  his  services  shall  pay  for  them  a  fair 
compensation.  If  there  is  a  community  needing 
his  services  which  is  too  poor  to  pay  for  them,  and 
he  is  able  to  teach  without  pay,  he  may  be  justified 


84  Pedagogy. 


in  working  for  nothing,  or  for  an  unreasonably 
small  sum,  but  not  otherwise.  However,  if  he  has 
agreed  to  work  for  small  pay,  or  for  nothing,  he 
ought  then  to  do  his  best:  the  smallness  of  his  pay 
is  no  good  excuse  for  poor  work. 

How  ESTIMATED  ? — It  is  no  easy  matter  to  esti- 
mate the  money  value  of  a  good  teacher's  serv- 
ices. Some  one  has  said  that  the  world's  work 
may  be  divided  into  two  kinds ;  viz. ,  job-work  and 
professional  work.  The  first  is  work  that  has  to  do 
with  material  things  only;  its  value  is  easily  com- 
puted ;  and  as  its  benefit  can  be  exactly  measured 
in  money,  so  can  its  compensation.  But  profes- 
sional work  has  to  do  with  things  that  can  not  be 
measured  in  money.  Who  can  tell  the  value  of  the 
physician's  services  when  he  saves  the  life  of  a 
friend,  or  of  a  minister's  if  he  lead  one  up  to  a 
higher  moral  and  religious  plane  of  life,  or  of  the 
artist's  when  he  cultivates  and  gratifies  our  aesthetic 
nature?  If  such  work  be  good,  money  can  not 
measure  it ;  if  it  be  poor,  it  is  worthless,  or  worse. 
The  work  of  the  true  teacher  must  be  classed  as 
professional  work.  No  one  can  tell  just  how  many 
dollars  a  month  will  be  an  equivalent  for  it.  How, 
then,  shall  we  determine  how  much  money  such  a 
teacher  should  receive? 

AMOUNT. — We  answer,  he  should  receive  enough 
to  serve  three  purposes ;  viz. ,  First,  to  provide  for 
the  wants  of  himself  and  his  family,  if  he  has  one, — 
and  he  ought  to  have  one  in  due  time ;  Second,  to 
provide  means  of  improvement  by  books,  travel, 


The   Teacher.  85 


etc.;  Third,  to  enable  him  to  lay  by  a  reasonable 
sum  for  sickness  and  old  age.  It  seems  clear  that 
a  good  teacher's  services  should  command  so  much ; 
and,  if  we  may  speak  for  the  fraternity  of  teachers, 
we  should  say,  This  is  enough.  We  would  not  have 
teaching  become  so  remunerative  that  people  would 
rush  into  the  business  merely  because  it  might  be 
an  easy  way  to  get  rich.  We  think,  however,  the 
danger  in  this  direction  is  not  very  serious  at 
present. 

PENSIONS. — In  some  European  countries,  they 
obviate  the  necessity  of  the  third  requirement  we 
have  mentioned  by  giving  pensions  to  superannu- 
ated teachers ;  and  the  same  thing  has  been  pro- 
posed in  some  of  our  States.  We  disapprove  of 
such  a  thing  most  heartily.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
not  just :  one  of  two  things  is  true ;  either  the 
teacher  has  earned  his  pension  or  he  has  not.  If 
he  has  earned  it,  he  should  have  had  it  at  the  time ; 
if  he  has  not  earned  it,  he  should  never  have  it. 
But  the  most  serious  objection  is  that  such  a  course 
takes  the  teacher  out  of  the  conditions  of  ordinary 
men.  Nothing  can  be  worse  for  him.  One  of  the 
worst  tendencies  of  his  profession  is  to  withdraw 
himself  from  the  pursuits  and  responsibilities  of 
men  in  general.  Nothing  should  be  done  to  in- 
crease that  tendency.  Let  his  circumstances  be 
made  as  nearly  like  those  of  other  men  as  possible, 
and  then  let  him  meet  all  of  a  man's  responsibili- 
ties. If  he  meet  with  misfortune,  let  him  receive 
gifts  just  as  any  one  else  would  do ;  but  give  him 


86  Pedagogy. 


a  fair  compensation;   and  then,    if  he  squander  it, 
let  him  suffer,   as   others  do. 

Preparation. — One  of  the  most  disheartening 
things  connected  with  our  public  schools  is  the  lack 
of  fitness  on  the  part  of  the  teachers.  A  large 
proportion  of  them  —  perhaps  a  majority  —  have 
made  less  preparation  for  their  delicate  and  difficult 
work  than  they  would  have  made  for  the  most  or- 
dinary trade.  And  this  state  of  things  exists  be- 
cause  the  community  permit  it  to  exist.  Men  will 
not  take  a  piece  of  old  harness,  to  be  mended,  to 
any  one  who  has  not  learned  the  harness-maker's 
trade,  nor  order  a  pair  of  shoes  made  except  by  a 
skilled  workman.  Yet,  these  same  men  will  send 
their  children  to  be  taught  by  some  green  boy  or 
girl  who  has  never  spent  one  half-hour  in  special 
preparation  for  the  work.  This  is  a  mystery  that 
can  be  explained  only  by  supposing  that  such 
people  do  not  realize  the  fact  that  preparation  for 
teaching  needs  to  be  made  and  can  be  made. 

Teachers  sometimes  judge  parents  very  unjustly.  We 
have  heard  it  said  that  parents  must  love  their  calves  better 
than  they  love  their  children,  for  they  will  visit  their  calves 
every  day,  but  they  will  not  go  to  the  school  where  their 
children  are  taught  during  a  whole  term.  This  is  fallacious ; 
the  parent  does  not  regard  it  so  needful  to  visit  the  school  as 
it  is  to  care  for  his  calves.  Nor  does  he  see  how  necessary  it 
is  for  the  teacher  to  be  prepared  for  his  work,  else  he  would 
insist  upon  it.  It  may  be  safely  assumed  that  almost  all 
parents — even  the  ignorant  and  vicious — desire  the  best  things 
tor  their  children,  but  often  they  do  not  know  what  the  best 
things  are. 


The   Teacher.  87 


Of  course,  we  are  now  speaking  of  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  teacher's  work,  which  should  be  made 
before  taking  charge  of  a  school.  It  often  happens 
that,  if  one  has  some  native  gift  for  teaching,  he 
may  enter  upon  his  work  without  any  preparation ; 
and  yet,  at  the  end  of  a  few  terms  spent  in  the 
school-room,  he  may  be  found  a  skilled  workman. 
Probably  he  might  acquire  the  skill  of  a  blacksmith 
in  a  similar  way ;  but  the  waste  of  iron  and  coal 
that  would  attend  his  apprentice  efforts  would  be  a 
sufficient  barrier  in  that  case.  What  a  pity  that 
the  waste  of  children's  powers  and  time  can  not  be 
estimated  as  easily  as  the  waste  of  minerals ! 
Every  one  has  heard  of  the  reply  of  the  celebrated 
French  oculist,  when  some  one  complimented  his 
skill  in  operating  on  the  eye:  "Yes,"  said  he,  "I 
may  have  some  skill  now,  but  I  spoiled  a  hatful  of 
eyes  in  learning." 

Normal  schools  are  intended  specially  for  the  preparing 
of  teachers  for  their  business ;  and  this  should  be  their  sole 
purpose, — academic  work,  as  such,  is  foreign  to  their  true  aim. 
There  can  be  no  question,  other  things  being  equal,  that  any 
one  will  make  a  better  teacher  by  attending  even  a  tolerably 
good  Normal  school.  Still,  it  does  not  follow  that  such  a 
school  is  the  only  place  where  the  preparation  can  be  made. 
Multitudes  of  excellent  teachers  have  never  attended  a  Nor- 
mal school.  Nor  can  the  best  Normal  school  make  a  first- 
rate  teacher  out  of  every  one  who  enters  it.  But  what  we 
assert,  most  earnestly  and  confidently,  is  that,  somewhere  and 
somehow,  by  thought,  reading,  instruction,  observation,  or  all 
combined,  the  teacher  should  be  required  to  make  reasonable 
preparation  for  his  work  before  he  is  permitted  to  enter 
upon  it. 


88  Pedagogy. 


WHAT  PREPARATION? — There  are  three  distinct 
fields  in  which  preparation  should  be  madec 

First. — The  candidate  for  the  teacher's  office 
should  become  well  acquainted  with  the  nature  of 
children.  He  should  understand  their  physical 
nature,  its  laws,  needs,  and  possibilities.  He 
should  understand  the  laws  of  mind,  both  in  its 
action  and  in  its  growth.  He  should  understand 
the  springs  and  movements  of  the  human  being 
which  result  in  a  good  moral  character  or  its  op- 
posite. In  short,  he  should  become  versed  in  a 
knowledge  of  what  we  call  "human  nature"  in  its 
broadest  sense.  But,  besides  a  general  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  he  needs  to  be  specially  ac- 
quainted with  that  complicated  and  mysterious 
thing  in  its  plastic,  formative,  and  growing  stages,  for 
it  is  the  material  on  which  he  is  to  work.  What 
would  be  said  of  the  tailor  ignorant  of  the  nature 
and  qualities  of  cloth  ?  or  of  the  nursery-man  know- 
ing nothing  of  the  nature  of  plants  or  the  mysteries 
of  plant-life?  We  require  even  of  a  sewing  girl 
that  she  should  know  something  of  the  structure 
and  operation  of  the  machine  she  uses. 

Second. — He  should  be  well  acquainted  with  the 
branches  of  knowledge  that  he  is  to  teach.  And 
here  we  must  note  that  the  teacher's  knowledge  of 
subjects  ought  to  be  of  a  special  kind, — it  must  ex- 
tend to  underlying  principles.  One  may  know  how 
to  read  very  well,  and  still  be  ignorant  of  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  good  reading  depends.  One 
may  be  able  to  make  all  the  computations  necessary 


The   Teacher.  89 


in  the  counting-room,  and  have  a  "plentiful  lack" 
of  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  arithmetic, — so 
essential  to  one  who  is  to  teach  the  science.  And 
similar  remarks  may  be  made  about  all  the  studies 
of  the  school ;  all  need  to  be  acquired  by  the 
teacher  in  a  way  quite  different  from  that  which  is 
necessary  simply  for  practical  use.  We  assert  that 
a  teacher's  knowledge  should  be  of  a  special  quality, 
whether  its  quantity  be  more  or  less ;  but,  of 
course,  in  quantity  it  should  much  exceed  what  he 
is  likely  to  be  called  upon  to  impart. 

Third. — He  should  be  prepared  both  in  the 
principles  and  the  methods  of  imparting  knowledge, 
and  in  the  principles  and  methods  of  governing  and 
managing  children  no  less.  Unchanging  and  un- 
changeable principles  underlie  all  correct  teaching 
and  management.  These  principles  can  be  investi- 
gated and  acquired;  and  a  knowledge  of  them, 
when  arranged  systematically,  constitutes  the  science 
of  instruction.  All  good  methods  rest  upon  and 
are  shaped  by  these  principles.  Methods,  or  rather 
modes,  may  vary  indefinitely,  while  the  underlying 
principles  are  the  same.  But  the  teacher  should 
make  a  careful  study  of  methods,  that  he  may 
avoid  bad  ones,  and  that  he  may  be  ready  to  adapt 
or  to  devise  good  ones  for  the  several  cases  that  will 
arise  in  his  experience. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that,  while  the  candidate  for  teach- 
ing should  be  well  prepared  in  these  three  distinct  fields,  the 
ordinary  examinations  for  license  to  teach  have  regard  only 
to  the  second,  and  in  that  even  they  are  often  very  far  from 

Fed.— 8. 


90  Pedagogy. 

searching.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  test  the  candidate's  knowledge 
in  the  other  two ;  but  some  tests  could  be  applied,  and  they 
would  be  applied  if  the  community  demanded  it.  The  truth 
is,  however,  that  instead  of  making  such  a  demand,  the  com- 
munity are  more  likely  to  find  fault  if  the  examiner  is  rigid 
and  exacting  in  the  one  third  that  he  does  attempt. 

Progress. — But  the  teacher's  preparation  must 
not  stop  with  getting  ready  for  his  school ;  it 
should  continue  until  the  last  day  that  he  comes 
before  pupils  as  their  teacher. 

DAILY. — We  assert,  as  an  unquestionable  truth, 
that  he  should  make  a  daily  preparation  for  every 
class  that  he  is  to  teach.  No  matter  how  familiar 
the  subject,  he  should  bring  it  before  his  mind  in 
order  that  he  may  be  fresh  upon  it,  that  he  may 
have  its  inherent  difficulties  clearly  in  mind,  and 
that  he  may  adapt  his  teaching  of  it  to  the  personal 
peculiarities  of  the  particular  Johns  and  Susans  that 
compose  his  present  class.  Furthermore,  he  should 
not  be  content  always  to  present  the  subject  in  the 
same  way,  nor  to  confine  himself  to  the  same  plan 
of  removing  difficulties.  He  should  seek  new  and 
attractive  ways  of  presenting  the  most  familiar  sub- 
jects, and  this  for  his  own  sake  no  less  than  for 
his  pupils'.  In  no  other  way  can  he  keep  out  of 
"ruts,"  or  keep  up  his  own  interest  in  what  he  is 
doing,  and  thus  avoid  that  humdrum  monotony 
which  is  a  special  bane  of  the  teacher's  work. 

FOR  HIGHER  RANK. — Once  more,  besides  his 
daily  preparation  for  his  class-work,  he  should  make 
daily  preparation  for  higher  professional  rank.  It 


The   Teacher.  g  i 


may  be  so  in  many  other  things,  but  certainly  in 
the  teacher's  work  there  is  no  standing  still, — not 
to  go  forward  is  to  go  back. 

Some  years  ago,  Mr.  P.,  of  Massachusetts,  told  this  story 
of  his  experience  as  an  examiner  of  teachers.  One  day,  after 
examining  a  candidate,  he  told  him  that  he  must  refuse  him 
a  certificate.  "Well,"  said  the  man,  "  I  think  that  is  strange; 
I  taught  school  five  years  ago  in  this  very  town,  and  you,  Mr. 
P.,  gave  me  my  license.  I  think  it  is  a  pity  if  I  don't  know 
as  much  as  I  did  five  years  ago."  Said  Mr.  P.,  "I  think  you 
do  know  as  much  as  you  did  then,  but  no  more,  and  that  is  a 
sufficient  reason  for  refusing  you  a  license."  Was  not  Mr.  P. 
right? 

This  preparation  for  higher  professional  rank 
should  be  of  a  three-fold  nature : 

First. — The  teacher  should  constantly  push  for- 
ward in  the  subjects  he  is  called  upon  to  teach. 
Who  can  gather  in  all  knowledge  on  such  familiar 
subjects  as  Geography  and  History,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  higher  walks  of  Literature,  Science,  and 
Mathematics? 

Second.—  He  should  select  some  department  of 
knowledge  not  particularly  connected  with  his 
school-room  work,  and  become  a  faithful  and  con- 
stant student  in  that  direction.  Let  him  consult 
his  own  taste  in  this  matter ;  the  range  of  subjects 
is  unlimited, — Philosophy,  Literature,  Art,  History, 
Natural  Science,  Theology,  etc.,  all  open  inviting 
doors  to  those  whose  tastes  lead  that  way.  It  is 
important  that  the  teacher  study  in  the  way  pro- 
posed, not  simply  to  broaden  his  knowledge,  to 


92  Pedagogy. 


keep  his  manhood  from  being  smothered  in  the 
schoolmaster,  but  because  he  can  not  in  any  other 
way  keep  himself  in  the  true  attitude  of  a  learner. 
And  one  who  is  not  in  the  attitude  of  a  learner  is 
unfit  to  lead  others  into  that  attitude,  or  to  direct 
their  work  should  they  chance  to  be  found  in  such 
an  attitude. 

Third. — He  ought  to  keep  up  constant  profes- 
sional work  by  reading  professional  literature, 
books  and  periodicals,  and  by  attending  and  taking 
part  in  professional  meetings.  The  literature  of 
Pedagogics  is  very  considerable  and  very  respect- 
able ;  and  it  is  growing  every  day,  both  in  quantity 
and  character.  And  yet  how  many  teachers  are 
there  who  never  read  a  book  on  teaching?  Per- 
haps they  do  not  wish  to  do  so ;  we  fear  some 
would  prefer  a  dime  novel.  And  how  many  take 
no  teachers'  periodical  ?  Still,  those  very  persons 
are  perhaps  the  most  clamorous  to  be  counted 
members  of  a  "profession!"  What  should  we 
say  of  a  physician  who  read  no  books,  and  took  no 
periodical,  treating  of  medicine  ?  What  should  we 
say  of  a  lawyer  who  did  not  know  any  thing  of 
Blackstone?  But  are  not  some  members  of  the 
teachers'  "profession"  perfectly  ignorant  of  any 
knowledge  of  Pestalozzi  ? 

Complaint  is  often  made  that  society  does  not  give  teachers 
the  rank  and  the  consideration  to  which  their  office  should 
entitle  them.  No  doubt  this  is  true  of  some  communities  and 
of  some  teachers ;  but,  when  one  observes  the  lack  of  culture, 
of  earnestness,  and  of  true  professional  spirit  so  common  to  a 


The   Teacher.  93 


large  number  of  those  who  teach,  he  can  not  avoid  the  con- 
clusion that,  on  the  average,  teachers  are  appreciated  as 
highly  as  they  deserve. 

"The  fault  ...  is  not  in  our  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings." 

Further,  the  teacher  should  not  only  read  pro- 
fessionally, but  he  should  write  professionally  for 
teachers'  periodicals  or  the  common  newspaper. 
The  editor  of  almost  any  paper  will  be  glad  to 
open  his  columns  to  well  written  articles  on  educa- 
tion. We  have  more  than  hinted  that  the  com- 
munity need  instruction  on  educational  themes; 
who  should  instruct  them,  if  not  the  teacher? 
And  the  readiest  medium  for  the  instruction  of  the 
community  is  the  newspaper. 

Nor  can  he  afford  to  absent  himself  from  the 
gatherings  of  his  fellow-teachers, — in  the  Institute, 
or  the  County,  State,  or  National  Association.  He 
needs  to  do  this  that  he  may  gain  the  quickening 
that  comes  from  social  intercourse  with  those  en- 
gaged in  like  pursuits,  as  well  as  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  general  drift  of  educational 
discussion. 

OBJECTION. — But  here,  of  course,  we  shall  be 
met  by  the  school-keeper,  who  says,  ' '  It  costs 
money  to  buy  books  and  periodicals,  to  travel  to 
distant  places,  and  to  pay  hotel  bills.  My  salary 
is  small;  I  can  not  afford  it."  Deluded  pedagogue, 
you  can  not  "  afford"  not  to  do  it!  Money  in- 
vested in  this  way  will  pay  you  better  in  money 
than  if  loaned  on  bond  and  mortgage.  You  look 


94  Pedagogy. 

longingly  at  the  places  filled  by  your  fellow-teachers 
who  get  good  salaries.  Let  us  tell  you  that  we 
are  pointing  out  one  of  the  surest  roads  to  those 
very  places.  We  have  known  a  great  many  young 
teachers  who  have  risen  from  your  position  to  such 
places,  and  we  think  every  one  spent  money  out  of 
his  meager  salary  in  the  very  ways  we  are  com- 
mending, although  he  could  not  "afford"  it.  But 
it  brought  returns  at  an  excellent  rate  of  interest. 
As  well  might  the  carpenter  say,  "I  must  exhaust 
my  strength  with  this  dull,  old,  worthless  plane ; 
I  can  not  ' afford'  to  pay  money  for  a  better  one;  " 
or  the  farmer  say,  "I  can  not  'afford'  to  pay 
money  for  seed-corn." 

It  is  true,  however,  that  in  some  country  districts  a 
studious  teacher  loses,  at  least  temporarily,  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  They  are  possessed  with  the  notion  that  the 
teacher's  business  is  simply  to  impart  information,  and  that  if 
he  be  prepared  for  his  work  he  must  have  acquired  all  the 
information  he  needs  to  impart.  Hence,  any  effort  of  his  in 
the  way  of  study  appears  to  them  to  be  an  exhibition  of  weak- 
ness. Such  foolish  notions  will  disappear  as  people  come  to 
have  more  correct  views  of  the  work  of  teaching. 

We  have  urged  that  the  teacher  should  always 
be  an  active  student  in  order  that  he  may  be,  and 
continue  to  be,  a  useful  and  efficient  teacher.  This 
is  by  no  means  all,  however.  In  no  other  way  can 
he  save  himself  from  becoming  a  juiceless  "peda- 
gogue," such  as  our  great  novelists  have  sometimes 
ridiculed.  Furthermore,  it  is  very  apparent  that 
intellectual  activity  tends  to  prolong  life.  A  very 


The   Teacher.  95 


large  number  of  the  world's  best  thinkers  have  re- 
tained their  full  powers  to  a  very  advanced  age, 
and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  their  ad- 
vanced age  was  largely  due  to  their  intellectual 
activity.  Hence,  it  is  for  the  teacher's  highest  per- 
sonal interest  never  to  relax  his  efforts  as  an  earnest 
student. 


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CHAPTER  X. 

THE  TEACHER. — Continued. 

THE  old  proverb,  "As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the 
school,"  is  generally  true.  The  school  is  what  the 
teacher  makes  it, — it  is  largely  a  reflection  of  him- 
self. If  he  is  prompt,  accurate,  and  thorough, — or 
if  he  is  slovenly,  turbulent,  or  untruthful, — the 
school  will  probably  take  on  the  same  character,  to 
a  great  degree.  For  good  or  evil,  the  teacher  is 
reproducing  himself  in  his  pupils.  And,  as  many 
of  his  pupils  will  become  teachers  in  due  time,  his 
influence  is  constantly  widening.  The  author  well 
remembers  that  in  his  first  school  he  scarcely  un- 
dertook any  thing  in  the  way  of  teaching  or  discip- 
line without  imagining  how  a  former  teacher  of  his 
would  do  were  he  in  his  place, — the  image  of  that 
man  was  constantly  before  his  mind. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  teacher 
should  be  worthy  of  imitation  in  all  respects.  But 
the  faults  of  a  teacher  who  is  generally  good  and 
strong  are  likely  to  do  more  harm  than  the  faults 
of  a  weaker  teacher,  for  he  makes  a  deeper  impres- 
sion on  his  pupils ;  and,  in  their  efforts  to  imitate 
him,  they  are  quite  as  likely  to  seize  on  his  weak 
points  for  copying  as  his  strong  ones.  Perhaps 

Ped.-9.  (97) 


98  Pedagogy. 

they  are  more  likely  to  do  so, — for  crude  minds 
seem  inclined  to  believe  that  they  are  like  some 
great  man  when  they  have  caught  one  of  his  tricks 
or  mannerisms.  Some  young  men  may  have  fan- 
cied that  they  were  like  Horace  Greeley  because 
of  their  poor  handwriting. 

Of  course,  it  follows  that  the  teacher's  responsi- 
bility is  very  great.  He  should  realize  this  fact,  and 
it  should  make  him  thoughtful,  faithful,  and  diligent. 
But  he  should  not  allow  it  to  weigh  him  down. 
He  should  do  his  best,  and  then  leave  it ;  it  is  of 
no  use  to  worry  about  results.  In  one  of  her  last 
addresses  to  her  pupils,  Mary  Lyon  uttered  the 
famous  saying,  "  There  is  only  one  thing  in  the 
universe  that  I  fear, — either  that  I  shall  not  know 
my  duty,  or  shall  not  have  strength  to  do  it." 
There  is  nothing  else  that  any  one  ever  ought  to 
fear. 

Aptitude. — The  old  Latin  proverb  says,  "  Poeta 
nasciturnonfit" — the  poet  is  born,  not  made.  To 
a  certain  extent,  the  same  thing  is  true  of  teachers. 
Probably  any  one  of  ordinary  capacity  will  be  able 
to  teach  respectably  by  due  preparation  and  dili- 
gence ;  but  no  one  will  be  likely  to  reach  a  high 
place  in  the  ranks  of  teachers  if  he  has  not  some 
special  gift  for  teaching.  And  native  ability  for 
teaching  is  not  the  same  thing  as  native  ability  in 
general.  Some  persons  most  highly  endowed  with 
ability  for  scholarship  succeed  very  poorly  as  teach- 
ers ;  on  the  other  hand,  some  make  excellent 
teachers  whose  general  ability  is  not  marked. 


The  Teacher.  99 


Every  teacher  in  a  Normal  school  will  discover  that  his 
brightest  pupils  are  not  sure  to  make  the  best  teachers.  What 
is  the  true  course  for  one  who  finds,  on  attempting  to  teach, 
that  he  has  gifts  in  that  direction  ?  Sometimes  persons  seem 
to  think  that  because  they  are  thus  gifted  they  may  trust 
wholly  to  their  gifts,  and  dispense  with  careful  preparation. 
The  true  course  is  just  the  opposite  of  this:  gifts  specially 
adapted  to  any  work  indicate  the  propriety  of  special  prepara- 
tion for  that  work, — a  principle  laid  down  in  our  discussion  of 
special  education. 

Health. — The  mind  can  act,  or  be  acted  upon, 
only  through  the  body.  Hence,  the  importance  of 
a  healthy  body  to  a  mind-worker.  The  notion  that 
feeble,  sickly  people,  who  can  not  stand  the  strain 
of  physical  labor,  are  proper  persons  to  teach 
school  is  very  unreasonable.  Some  persons  know, 
from  trying  both,  that  it  is  much  easier  to  plow 
than  to  teach  school  when  one  has  the  headache. 
Besides,  there  are  few  occupations  more  filled  with 
petty  annoyances  than  teaching ;  the  teacher  can 
hardly  meet  them  properly  if  he  is  in  ill-health. 
Further,  the  weakness  and  irritability  attending  ill- 
ness are  likely  to  cause  him  to  provoke  new  annoy- 
ances, where  good  health  would  have  enabled  him 
to  overcome  such  as  naturally  arise.  Of  all  men, 
the  teacher  needs  a  clear  head  and  a  cheerful 
heart ;  and  these  are  hardly  possible  to  one  who  has 
a  diseased  body. 

How  TO  PRESERVE  HEALTH. — If  the  teacher's 
health  is  reasonably  good,  how  is  he  to  keep  it  so  ? 
We  will  venture  to  offer  a  few  common-sense  sug- 
gestions, not  as  a  physician,  but  as  a  person  who 


i  oo  Pedagogy . 


has  learned  something  from  observation  and  experi- 
ence ;  and  the  suggestions  we  offer  to  the  teacher 
are  quite  as  important  for  the  pupil.  We  will  first 
mention  two  of  the  ways  "How  not  to  do  it." 

First. — Do  not  expect  to  keep  your  health  by  a 
constant  thinking  about  it.  Do  not  keep  up  a  con- 
tinual study  to  see  if  you  can  not  detect  some 
symptoms  of  disease  in  yourself  Believe  yourself 
well,  if  you  are  not  obliged  to  believe  otherwise. 
Give  thought  enough  to  the  subject  to  take  reason- 
able care  of  yourself,  but  no  more. 

Second. — Put  far  off  the  notion  that  you  can 
abuse  your  body,  and  then  make  it  as  good  as  it 
was  before  by  taking  medicine.  Not  a  few  people 
destroy  their  health  by  frequent  dosing.  You  may 
have  heard  of  the  epitaph : 

"  I  was  well,  and  wished  to  be  better, 
Took  physic,  and  here  I  am." 

We  fear  it  would  be  appropriate  for  more  tomb- 
stones than  have  ever  borne  it.  Medicine  is 
doubtless  necessary  at  times,  but  only  as  a  dire 
alternative.  Nor  do  we  believe  medicine  will  ever 
make  one  "as  good  as  new." 

GOOD  AIR. — We  need  not  stop  to  prove  that 
good  air  is  absolutely  essential  to  good  health.  We 
should  spend  a  reasonable  amount  of  time  in  the 
open  air ;  and  we  need  pure  air  in  our  work-rooms, 
and  especially  in  our  sleeping-rooms.  Few  of  our 
school-rooms  have  any  proper  provision  for  securing 
good  air ;  and  the  air  becomes  vitiated  so  gradually 


The  Teacher.  101 


that  we  are  very  likely  not  to  know  that  we  are 
suffering  from  it  if  we  do  not  oblige  ourselves  to 
stop  and  think  about  it.  But  what  shall  we  do 
about  it?  To  drop  a  window  from  the  top  will 
probably  let  a  flood  of  cold  air  fall  on  some  one's 
head ;  to  raise  a  window  from  the  bottom  is  no 
better.  Windows  may  easily  be  provided  with  a 
close-fitting  board  to  be  put  in  front  of  the  open- 
ing, so  that  the  current  will  strike  no  one.  But,  in 
general,  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done  in  an  ordi- 
nary, unventilated  school-room,  is  to  take  time,  as 
often  as  need  be,  put  the  school  in  motion,  and 
then  open  the  windows  wide  on  both  sides,  com- 
pletely changing  the  whole  body  of  air. 

EQUILIBRIUM  OF  BODILY  TEMPERATURE. — In  a 
healthy  body,  in  good  conditions,  there  is  a  certain 
equilibrium  or  balancing  of  temperature  between  its 
different  parts  which  can  not  be  disturbed  without 
danger  to  health.  One  of  the  chief  dangers  from 
bad  modes  of  ventilation  is  in  the  drafts, — and  a 
draft  is  dangerous  because  it  is  likely  to  disturb  the 
equilibrium  of  bodily  temperature  by  cooling  a 
part  of  the  body.  The  same  danger  follows  the 
wetting  of  the  feet,  or  sitting  with  part  of  the 
clothing  dampened.  Heavy  mufflers  worn  about 
the  throat  are  dangerous  for  the  same  reason ;  they 
heat  the  throat  unduly,  and  when  they  are  removed 
a  rapid  cooling  of  the  parts  is  likely  to  follow, — 
and  the  equilibrium  is  disturbed.  The  extremities 
are  the  parts  most  exposed  to  danger,  as  they  are 
farthest  from  the  center  of  life  and  heat.  The  legs 


IO2  Pedagogy. 


and   feet  should   be  well  protected, — especially  the 
soles. 

There  is  much  wisdom  in  the  old  proverb,  "  Keep  the  feet 
warm,  and  the  head  cool."  The  author  was  once  riding  with 
Dr.  Calvin  Cutter  over  the  bleak  hills  of  New  Hampshire, 
facing  a  cold  November  wind.  The  Doctor  was  provided 
with  a  heavy  shawl ;  but,  instead  of  wrapping  it  about  his 
shoulders,  he  wrapped  it  around  his  legs  and  feet. 

CLEANLINESS. — Our  bodies  are  wasting  all  the 
time;  particles  of  matter  are  dying,  and  new  ones 
are  taking  their  places.  When  we  cease  to  die  in 
this  way,  we  are  certain  to  die  altogether.  The 
dead,  worn-out  particles  must  be  removed,  and 
nature  has  provided  for  their  removal  in  three 
ways:  a  great  part  passes  off  through  the  lungs,  a 
part  through  the  bowels,  and  a  large  part  through 
the  pores  of  the  skin.  If  any  one  of  these  avenues 
of  escape  is  stopped,  the  others  must  be  over- 
loaded, or  disease  will  follow, — probably  both  will 
result.  The  exudations  through  the  pores  contain 
watery  vapor;  when  this  passes  away,  the  dead 
matter  remains,  closing  the  pores. 

A  chill  will  do  the  same  thing;  hence,  Dr.  Cutter  says,  "  If 
you  were  to  varnish  a  man  all  over,  he  would  seem  to  die  of  a 
cold."  For  the  reason  given  above,  when  the  pores  are 
clogged,  diseases  of  the  lungs  or  the  bowels  are  likely  to 
follow.  Probably,  much  of  the  "Summer  Complaint"  is  due 
to  chills,  or  dirt  on  the  skin,  when  the  innocent  water-melons 
or  other  fruits  bear  the  blame.  The  danger  from  sitting  in  a 
room  "just  a  little  too  cold"  arises  from  the  closing  of  the 
pores. 


The    Teacher.  103 


When  the  pores  are  closed  by  exudations,  the 
skin  should  be  put  in  working  condition  again  by 
bathing,  or  friction,  or  both.  No  definite  rules  can 
be  given  as  to  how  often  this  should  be  done, 
whether  cold  water  or  warm  should  be  used,  etc. 
It  should  be  done  often  enough  to  keep  the  skin 
clean.  If,  after  using  cold  water,  the  skin  can  be 
put  into  a  healthy  glow  by  friction,  then  a  cold  bath 
is  good ;  but  the  bath  should  never  leave  a  chill. 

EXERCISE. — No  one  can  be  healthy  without  a 
due  amount  of  muscular  exercise.  Care  in  this 
regard  is  especially  necessary  to  the  teacher,  be- 
cause his  work  furnishes  but  little  exercise.  Young 
people  leaving  active  pursuits  for  the  school-room, 
whether  teachers  or  students,  are  likely  to  lose 
health  if  they  are  not  very  careful  in  the  matter  of 
exercise.  But  no  fixed  rules  can  prescribe  just  the 
best  kind  or  amount  of  exercise ;  the  needs  vary 
with  the  individual.  Walking,  riding,  playing  vig- 
orous games,  etc.,  are  all  good  forms  of  exercise. 
But,  in  general,  it  is  best  that  the  exercise  have  a 
purpose  in  itself  apart  from  the  fact  that  it  is  to 
preserve  health.  This  is  the  advantage  of  a  game, 
or  a  walk  for  the  study  of  botany  or  geology,  over 
the  dull  "constitutional." 

Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock,  of  Amherst  College,  was  in  a  state 
of  health  so  feeble  that  his  friends  had  nearly  given  him  up  to 
die;  but  just  then  he  became  interested  in  geological  studies. 
He  took  long  walks  to  find  specimens ;  and  the  result  was  that 
he  not  only  regained  his  health,  but  became  one  of  the  fore- 
most geologists  of  his  time. 


IO4  Pedagogy. 


Most  of  the  common  forms  of  exercise  call  into 
action  only  a  part  of  the  muscles ;  well  devised 
gymnastics  exercise  all, — hence,  their  advantage. 
The  "health-lift"  is  highly  commended. 

FOOD. — In  respect  to  food,  one  man's  wants  can 
not  be  made  the  guide  for  another,  either  as  to 
kind  or  amount.  There  is  truth  in  the  proverb, 
"One  man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison."  The 
structure  of  our  teeth  indicates  that  it  is  intended 
that  man  should  eat  both  animal  and  vegetable 
food.  But  the  relative  amounts  of  each  will  vary 
with  different  persons  and  with  different  circum- 
stances. As  a  general  rule,  it  is  safe  to  eat  what- 
ever is  commonly  regarded  as  eatable,  unless  one 
finds  that  it  does  not  agree  with  him ;  in  that  case, 
he  should  let  it  alone,  whatever  it  may  be,  or  how- 
ever much  appetite  may  crave  it.  There  is  scarcely 
any  thing  about  which  more  nonsense  has  been 
written  than  about  food.  A  good  general  rule  is, 
"Eat  good  food,  well-cooked,  and  enough  of  it." 

Take  your  food  regularly, — two  or  three  times  a 
day,  as  best  agrees  with  you, — eat  when  the  time 
comes,  and  at  no  other  time ;  take  nothing  between 
meals.  Eat  slowly, — many  Americans  seem  to 
pride  themselves  on  the  brevity  of  the  time  in 
which  they  can  cram  their  meals  into  their 
stomachs, — they  "glory  in  their  shame."  No  or- 
dinary meal  should  occupy  less  than  twenty  min- 
utes,—perhaps  a  half-hour  is  better.  Social  meals 
are  better  than  solitary.  Pleasant,  lively  conversa- 
tion should  take  the  mind  off  the  act  of  eating, — 


The   Teacher.  105 


cur  meals  should  be  something  more  than  mere 
feeding  times.  No  violent  exercise  of  mind  or  body 
should  immediately  precede  or  follow  a  meal. 

SLEEP. — In  respect  to  sleep,  also,  one  man's 
needs  can  not  be  made  the  measure  for  another. 
Each  should  ascertain  for  himself  how  much  sleep 
he  needs, — and  then  lie  should  take  it.  Probably 
very  few  persons  need  less  than  seven  hours, — more 
require  eight  or  nine.  There  is  a  very  foolish 
notion  that  time  spent  in  sleep  is  lost ;  the  student 
often  takes  pride  in  the  number  of  hours  that  he 
saves  from  sleep.  These  are  hours  that  he  borrows 
at  a  ruinous  rate  of  interest.  No  time  is  ever  lost 
that  is  spent  in  needed  sleep.  Sleep  repairs  the 
wasted  energies  of  the  body,  especially  of  the 
nervous  system ;  and,  if  we  fail  to  get  enough 
sleep,  bankruptcy  of  power  is  inevitable,  sooner  or 
later.  Brain-workers  probably  need  more  sleep 
than  manual  laborers ;  but  they  are  not  so  likely  to 
feel  their  need.  If  one  persist  in  robbing  himself 
of  sleep,  he  is  very  likely  to  find,  after  a  time,  that 
he  can  not  sleep.  Doubtless,  this  hastened  the 
death  of  Horace  Greeley.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
Hugh  Miller's  insanity  was  due  to  the  same  cause. 

Whether  to  sleep  the  first  part  of  the  night  or 
the  last  is  a  question  each  may  settle  for  himself, 
but  let  him  take  care  not  to  cut  the  night  at  both 
ends.  As  in  eating,  so  in  sleeping,  regularity  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  Nature  accommodates 
herself  to  our  ways,  but  she  will  not  be  trifled  with. 
If  we  have  a  regular  time  to  sleep,  we  shall  gener- 


io6  Pedagogy. 


ally  feel  sleepy  when  that  time  comes.  Health 
and  bodily  vigor  are  gifts  that  depend  largely  upon 
ourselves.  Some  people  think  sickness  and  bodily 
weakness  criminal;  and,  doubtlesss,  they  are  so  in 
many  cases. 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE  TEACH ER .  —  Concluded. 

What  are  Habits? — The  word  habit  comes  from 
the  Latin  habere,  to  have ;  it  means  any  custom,  or 
practice,  or  act  which  by  repetition  becomes  to  us 
like  "  second  nature."  That  which  is  habitual  to 
us  we  do  without  thought,  or  effort,  or  special  in- 
tention,— very  much  in  the  same  way  that  we 
breathe.  Habits  are  the  practices  or  customs  that 
we  have ;  or,  if  we  think  of  their  power  over  us, 
it  will  not  be  far  wrong  to  say  that  they  have  us. 
It  has  been  said  that  "man  is  a  bundle  of  habits;" 
at  any  rate,  a  man's  true  character  in  all  respects  is 
indicated  by  his  habits;  nor  would  it  be  wrong  to 
say  that  his  habits  make  him  what  he  is. 

Dr.  Rosenkranz  has  well  said  that  we  are  not 
thoroughly  educated  in  any  thing  till  it  has  taken 
on  the  form  of  habit ;  in  other  words,  habit  is  the 
form  which  all  true  education  takes.  This  may  be 
illustrated  in  a  great  many  ways:  one  is  not  thor- 
oughly educated  in  the  multiplication  table  if  he 
has  to  stop  and  think  how  many  are  eight  times 
seven ;  he  is  not  educated  to  write  while  he  must 
think  carefully  how  he  ought  to  form  his  letters ; 
he  is  not  educated  in  morality  while  he  debates  the 

question  whether  he  shall  do  right. 

(107) 


io8  Pedagogy. 


The  great  value  of  habit  is  that  it  enables  us  to 
do  easily  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  to  do  it 
rapidly  and  accurately,  without  any  special  thought 
or  effort. 

Habits,  if  they  are  bad,  are  full  of  danger,  as 
they  lead  us  to  do  many  things  which  our  judgment 
or  our  conscience  disapproves.  The  bad  habit  of 
the  drunkard  carries  him  onward  in  his  downward 
course,  in  spite  of  his  judgment,  his  conscience,  and 
his  feeble  will. 

Bodily  Habits. — A  good  test  for  all  habits  per- 
taining to  the  body  is  furnished  by  the  question, 
"Are  they  becoming?"  By  this  test,  all  vulgar 
habits,  such  as  spitting,  picking  the  nose,  awkward- 
ness of  gait,  etc.,  will  be  condemned. 

DRESS. — It  is  significant  that  dress  is  often  called 
habit;  and  the  test  just  given  for  a  habit  of  the 
body  applies  here  with  much  force.  Dress  is  in- 
tended to  serve  three  purposes ;  viz. ,  Decency,  com- 
fort, and  adornment.  Any  dress  that  is  not  both 
decent  and  comfortable  is  not  becoming,  no  matter 
how  costly  or  stylish  it  may  be.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary that  dress  should  be  very  expensive  in  order 
to  be  becoming ;  nor  can  teachers,  generally,  afford 
very  expensive  dress.  But  the  teacher's  dress 
should  be  neat,  well-fitting,  and  neither  too  much 
nor  too  little  conformed  to  the  prevalent  mode.  In 
style  of  dress,  the  teacher  may  well  follow  the  old 
couplet : 

"  Be  not  the  first  by  whom  the  new  is  tried, 
Nor  yet  the  last  to  cast  the  old  aside." 


Tlie   Teacher.  1 09 


The  material  should  be  good,  although  it  need 
not  be  very  costly ;  but,  in  general,  very  cheap 
material  is  not  really  economical ;  a  coat  that  costs 
thirty  dollars,  if  it  is  worth  it,  is  likely  to  be 
cheaper  in  the  end  than  one  that  is  worth  but 
fifteen  dollars,  as  it  will  wear  much  longer,  and  will 
retain  its  good  looks  till  it  is  worn  out.  One  may 
be  considered  well-dressed  when  his  appearance  is 
pleasing  to  good  taste ;  and  yet  it  is  difficult,  after 
leaving  him,  to  specify  the  kind  or  cut  of  the  gar- 
ments he  wore. 

Adornment  is  one  proper  purpose  of  dress ; 
hence,  a  reasonable  amount  of  ornament  is  well, 
especially  in  a  lady's  dress,  if  only  it  be  modest, 
genuine,  and  in  good  taste.  Sham  is  despicable 
anywhere,  but  nowhere  more  despicable  than  in 
ornament,  because  nowhere  else  is  there  so  little 
excuse  for  it.  Nor  can  we  believe  one  is  thor- 
oughly sound  morally,  who  will  consent  to  wear  sham 
jewelry  or  other  sham  ornaments.  This  may  be  a 
rash  assertion;  for,  when  we  remember  how  many 
thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  jewelry  are  made  in 
this  country,  of  which  you  may  have  "your  choice 
for  a  dollar," — but  will  be  cheated  to  the  amount 
of  ninety  cents,  at  least,  if  you  take  it, — we  must 
suppose  that  we  are  pronouncing  judgment  on  a 
great  many  people.  But  we  will  say  deliberately 
that  we  would  not  employ  a  person  to  teach  chil- 
dren if  we  knew  that  such  a  person  wore  sham 
jewelry  or  other  sham  ornaments,  knowing  them  to 
be  such. 


no  Pedagogy. 


POSITION. — The  teacher  should  be  very  careful 
not  to  suffer  himself  to  assume  uncouth  or  awkward 
positions, — such  as  tipping  his  chair  on  two  legs, 
thrusting  his  hands  into  his  pockets,  standing  in  a 
stooping  attitude  or  with  his  legs  twisted,  or  sitting 
on  desks  and  tables,  etc.  Nor  should  he  suffer  his 
pupils  to  form  such  habits.  An  erect  position  in 
standing  or  sitting,  with  shoulders  well  thrown 
back,  is  not  only  more  becoming,  but  it  is  more 
healthful,  as  well. 

MOVEMENT. — All  movements  in  the  school-room 
should  be  rapid,  quiet,  and  graceful.  In  the  at- 
tempt to  move  quietly,  all  awkward  attitudes,  such 
as  walking  on  tip-toe,  walking  with  hands  clasped 
behind,  etc.,  should  be  carefully  shunned.  If 
teacher  or  pupil  be  not  actually  deformed,  nothing 
but  care,  effort,  and  perseverance  is  necessary  to 
form  correct  habits  both  of  position  and  movement. 
If  the  teacher  find  that  his  pupils  have  bad  habits 
in  these  respects,  he  should  set  about  correcting 
them  ;  of  course,  this  is  not  the  main  purpose  of 
the  school,  but  it  is  too  important  to  be  neglected. 

Boys  and  girls  in  country  schools  are  likely  to  be  unreason- 
ably sensitive  on  the  points  just  mentioned.  The  writer  well 
remembers  that,  in  such  a  school,  which  he  attended  when  he 
was  a  boy,  the  boys  nearly  rebelled  because  a  new  teacher 
peremptorily  forbade  them  to  wear  their  hats  in  the  school- 
room at  the  noon  intermission.  They  were  not  bad  boys,  nor 
were  they  fools ;  they  were  simply  raw  fellows  who  never  had 
been  taught  any  better.  Had  the  teacher  been  wise  enough, 
he  might  have  accomplished  his  purpose  without  disturoing 
any  of  their  prejudices  or  awaking  any  opposition. 


The   Teacher.  1 1 1 


Intellectual  Habits. — We  shall  make  no  attempt 
to  consider  all  mental  habits,  but  will  only  speak 
of  four  that  are  of  special  significance  to  the 
teacher. 

CONCENTRATION.  —  No  one  ever  accomplishes 
much  intellectually,  unless  he  can  command  his 
mental  forces,  and  bring  them  to  a  focus  on  the 
matter  in  hand.  This  the  good  teacher  must  be 
able  to  do,  even  in  the  midst  of  distractions.  But 
it  is,  perhaps,  quite  as  necessary  that  the  teacher 
have  the  power  of  rapidly  withdrawing  his  mental 
forces  from  the  thing  in  hand,  and  quickly  center- 
ing them  on  something  else ;  without  this  power, 
he  will  often  be  the  victim  of  absent-mindedness. 
He  alone  who  has  control  of  his  faculties  in  both 
directions  is  prepared  to  use  his  powers  to  the  best 
advantage. 

It  is  said  of  the  great  Napoleon,  that  he  could  sit  down  in 
his  tent,  with  the  sound  of  the  cannon  in  his  ears,  spread  out 
his  maps,  and  plan  the  movements  for  the  next  day  as  coolly 
as  if  he  were  in  the  most  perfect  solitude ;  then,  when  his 
work  was  done,  he  could  fold  his  maps,  stretch  himself  on 
his  camp  bed,  and  be  asleep  in  four  minutes.  The  teacher 
should  aim  at  acquiring  the  same  kind  of  power,  so  far  as 
he  can  do  it. 

ACCURACY. — Mental  work  is  worth  little  in  any 
case, — usually  it  is  worth  nothing, — if  it  is  not 
accurate.  The  teacher  ought  to  be  in  love  with 
accuracy,  and  he  ought  to  inspire  that  love  in  his 
pupil.  "About  right"  is  wrong;  and  wrong  and 
right  are  opposed  to  each  other.  Let  the  teacher 


1 1  2  Pedagogy. 


train  himself,  and  train  his  pupils,  to  exactness  in 
thought,  exactness  in  speech  or  any  other  kind  of 
expression,  and  exactness  of  operation.  Washing- 
ton's accuracy  in  his  work  as  a  young  surveyor  is 
often  mentioned.  Without  it,  would  he  ever  have 
become  the  exact,  methodical,  successful  man  that 
he  was? 

RAPIDITY.— When  the  mind  can  work  accurately 
in  any  field,  then  it  becomes  of  the  highest  import- 
ance to  cultivate  the  power  of  working  rapidly. 
This  is  a  valuable  habit,  not  only  because  more 
work  can  be  done  in  a  given  time,  but  the  mind  is 
likely  to  do  better  work  when  it  is  aroused, — when 
it  works  under  pressure.  "Keep  cool"  may  be 
good  advice  sometimes ;  but  sometimes  it  is  better 
to  warm  up, — to  get  all  in  a  glow.  It  is  well  for 
the  teacher  to  train  himself  to  work  as  rapidly  as 
possible  in  whatever  private  study  he  undertakes,  as 
well  as  in  conducting  the  exercises  of  the  school. 
In  hearing  classes,  he  should  not  suffer  himself  to 
waste  time  in  calling  roll,  in  finding  his  place  in  the 
book,  and  in  "getting  ready"  in  general.  The 
recitation  should  begin  at  once,  under  a  "full  head 
of  steam,"  and  should  be  kept  up  in  that  way  till 
it  closes.  The  greater  the  pressure,  in  respect  to 
time,  brought  to  bear  on  the  class,  the  better,  so 
long  as  it  does  not  result  in  confusion.  Of  course, 
such  vigorous  work  should  be  followed  by  seasons 
of  sufficient  rest. 

THOROUGHNESS.  — The  word  thorough  is  the  same  as 
the  word  through.  To  be  thorough  in  a  thing, 


The   Teacher.  1 1 3 


then,  is  to  go  through  it  completely,  encountering 
and  mastering  every  difficulty.  Thoroughness  never 
is  accomplished  by  dabbling  simply  with  the  surface 
of  things ;  it  must  go  deep  down,  and  become  mas- 
ter of  principles.  It  is  not  necessary  to  know  all 
that  can  be  known  about  a  subject  in  order  to  be 
thorough  in  it;  but  it  is  necessary  to  know  the 
most  important  things  about  it,  to  know  them  in 
an  accurate  and  orderly  manner,  and  to  know  com- 
pletely all  that  we  pretend  to  know. 

Moral  Habits. — Here,  again,  we  shall  make  no 
attempt  to  exhaust  the  list,  but  will  call  attention 
to  four  habits  that  are  of  special  significance  to  the 
teacher. 

TRUTHFULNESS. — There  can  be  no  right  moral 
character  unless  it  have  truthfulness  for  its  basis ; 
hence,  the  propriety  of  placing  this  as  the  first  of 
moral  habits.  We  hope  that  there  are  few  teachers 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  lying  openly  and  intention- 
ally, but  something  more  than  this  is  necessary  to 
a  character  that  is  really  truthful.  There  are  many 
ways  of  being  untruthful  besides  lying  outright. 
The  teacher  who  makes  hasty  threats  or  rash  prom- 
ises, and  then  fails  to  keep  them,  is  untruthful.  So 
is  he  who  pretends  to  a  great  love  for  his  pupils 
which  he  does  not  feel;  or  he  who  pretends  to 
know  all  about  a  subject  of  which  he  is  ignorant. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  teacher  who  has 
set  exercises  prepared  to  display  when  visitors  hap- 
pen in?  Or  of  the  one  who  " fixes  up"  his  exer- 
cises for  examination?  Such  a  man  may  read  all 

Fed.— 10. 


114  Pedagogy. 


the  moral  lessons  on  lying  to  his  school,  including 
the  story  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira ;  but  what  does 
he  teach  them  about  the  subject,  except  that  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  lie  when  any  thing  is  likely  to  be 
gained  by  it?  And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  pupil 
who  borrows  work  of  his  neighbor  and  palms  it  off 
as  his  own?  Or  who  cheats  in  his  lessons  in  other 
ways?  And  what  can  the  teacher,  guilty  of  dis- 
honest practices,  do  with  a  pupil  whom  he  catches 
at  these  tricks?  Such  tricks  of  teacher  and  pupils 
have  in  them  the  essence  of  thievery  as  well  as 
falsehood,  for  they  are  attempts  to  get  something 
for  nothing  by  dishonest  means. 

When  the  true  sense  of  "honor"  prevails  in  our  schools, 
instead  of  the  miserable  false  code  now  so  common,  the  pupils 
will  feel  it  to  be  their  duty,  quite  as  much  as  their  teacher's, 
to  expose  all  such  wretched  practices,  and  to  assist  in  bringing 
the  offender  to  justice.  What  would  be  the  moral  status  of 
any  community  where  every  man  should  feel  bound  "  in 
honor"  to  shield  a  criminal  from  the  pursuit  of  the  civil  offi- 
cers, instead  of  assisting  them  to  bring  him  to  justice  ? 

KINDNESS. — It  is  the  teacher's  duty  to  form  the 
habit  of  kindness  in  thought,  in  look,  and  in 
speech.  This  is  a  moral  habit  when  it  is  formed 
and  persisted  in  because  it  is  right ;  for, 

MORALITY  is  a  due  regard  for  the  right  and  a  shun- 
ning of  the  wrong. 

CHEERFULNESS. — Much  the  same  thing  may  be 
said  about  the  habit  of  cheerfulness;  it  is  a  moral 
habit  when  it  is  followed  because  it  is  right.  To 


The   Teacher.  i  r  5 


be  kind  and  cheerful  when  one  is  in  glowing  health 
and  all  goes  well,  simply  because  one  feels  like  it, 
is  right  no  doubt ;  but  there  is  no  morality  in  that 
any  more  than  there  is  in  the  cat's  lapping  milk. 
But  for  one  to  force  himself  to  be  kind  and  cheer- 
ful habitually,  when  circumstances  and  his  feelings 
prompt  otherwise, — to  do  this  because  it  is  right, — 
is  moral  action  of  a  high  quality. 

JUSTICE. — A  careful  habit  of  justice  is  essential  to 
the  teacher's  success.  The  pupils,  although  ill- 
dressed — and  even  ill-behaved — have  rights  that  no 
teacher  can  justly  ignore.  And  they  know  it,  too; 
they  are  quick  to  feel  an  injustice,  and  the  memory 
of  it  will  remain  for  years.  It  is  not  easy  for  the 
teacher  to  do  exact  justice  by  his  pupils ;  he  must 
be  sheriff,  lawyer,  jury,  judge,  and  executioner  all 
in  one,  and  that,  too,  in  a  press  of  other  matters. 
It  requires  a  right  purpose,  an  unbiased  judgment, 
a  clear  head,  and  much  deliberation.  But  he 
should  undertake  nothing  in  the  way  of  trying  and 
punishing  offenses  unless  he  is  willing  to  take  the 
time  and  the  pains  to  become  acquainted  with  all 
the  facts,  to  weigh  them  carefully,  and  to  do  exact 
justice  to  the  full  extent  of  his  ability.  It  is  a 
fortunate  thing  for  a  teacher  when  his  pupils  come 
to  feel  that,  whatever  may  happen,  they  are  sure  to 
get  justice  at  his  hands.  True  justice  towards 
pupils  will  have  a  sacred  regard  for  their  feelings, 
and  will  not  subject  them  to  harsh,  undeserved 
sarcasm  and  ridicule  any  sooner  than  to  any  other 
form  of  ill-treatment. 


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(116) 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    SCHOOL. 

The  House. — Usually,  the  teacher  has  nothing 
to  say  about  the  situation  of  the  school-house. 
But  he  should  have  intelligent  views  on  this  sub- 
ject, as  well  as  on  all  others  connected  with  his 
business.  Other  things  being  equal,  of  course  the 
best  place  to  put  the  school-house  is  in  the  center 
of  the  district ;  but  if  the  center  is  in  marshy 
ground,  or  is  otherwise  unpleasant  or  unhealthy,  or 
if  it  is  not  so  accessible  as  some  other  place,  then 
the  school-house  should  be  placed  elsewhere.  In  a 
city,  the  school  should  not  be  situated  on  a  noisy 
or  dusty  street,  nor  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
great  manufactories  or  railroad  depots,  nor  near 
saloons  and  other  disreputable  places. 

SURROUNDINGS. — In  the  country,  at  least,  the 
school  grounds  should  be  liberal  in  extent.  A  half 
acre  is  little  enough  ;  an  acre  is  better.  Probably 
the  best  shape  for  the  ground  is  that  of  a  rectangle 
about  twice  as  long  as  it  is  wide.  The  ground 
should  be  surrounded  by  a  substantial  fence,  to 
protect  it  from  stray  animals,  and  to  determine  the 
pupils'  bounds.  The  house  should  be  set  well  back 
from  the  street;  the  ground  in  front  should  be  de- 


1 1 8  Pedagogy. 


voted  to  ornament,  and  the  ground  in  the  rear 
should  be  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  high  and 
close  fence  extending  from  the  house  to  the  bound- 
ary of  the  lot.  These  divisions  may  be  used  as 
play-grounds  for  the  boys  and  girls  respectively.  A 
few  trees  for  shade  should  be  planted  around  the 
play  ground,  but  there  should  not  be  so  many  as  to 
interfere  with  free  sports. 

The  ground  in  front  of  the  house  should  not  be 
used  as  a  play-ground,  but  should  be  kept  in  grass, 
and  well  adorned  with  trees,  flower-beds,  etc.  An 
intelligent  and  skillful  teacher  can  do  much  towards 
ornamenting  and  caring  for  this  front  yard.  He 
can  get  assistance  from  the  pupils  in  planting  trees, 
flowers,  etc.,  thus  teaching  them  something  about 
plant-life,  awakening  in  them  a  pride  in  their  sur- 
roundings, and  so  cultivating  their  aesthetic  nature, — 
a  part  of  education  that  seldom  receives  the  atten- 
tion it  deserves.  The  yards  should  be  well  sup- 
plied with  good  plank  or  brick  walks ;  brick  are 
perhaps  cheaper,  but  plank  walks  dry  sooner  and 
are  not  so  troublesome  in  icy  times. 

THE  STRUCTURE. — In  building  a  school-house,  it 
costs  but  little  more  to  have  some  regard  to  due 
proportion  and  modest  ornament  than  it  does  to 
build  a  structure  that  looks  like  a  barn  or  a  stable. 
The  child  will  remember  his  old  school-house  as 
long  as  he  lives.  Is  it  worth  while  that  the  re- 
membrance should  be  that  of  a  building  that  is 
cheerful  and  tasteful?  In  building  the  school- 
house,  care  should  be  taken  that  the  light  shall  not 


The  School.  119 


enter  in  front  of  the  pupils,  but  from  the  sides  of 
the  room,  and  perhaps  from  the  rear.  There 
should  be  enough  windows  to  give  sufficient  light ; 
but,  in  some  cases,  there  are  more  than  are 
needed,  giving  too  great  a  glare  of  light  in  bright 
summer  days,  and  admitting  too  much  cold  air  in 
the  winter.  It  is  well  to  have  the  windows  pro- 
tected by  strong  board-shutters,  that  may  be  closed 
at  night  and  in  vacation.  In  this  way,  the  house 
may  be  protected  from  tramps  and  other  intruders. 

It  would  be  well  if  all  our  school-houses  were 
built  with  some  due  provision  for  ventilation ;  it  is 
not  difficult,  if  care  be  taken  when  the  house  is 
building.  Let  the  walls,  floors,  and  windows  be 
made  as  tight  as  possible,  and  then  provide  for 
bringing  fresh  air  into  the  house.  Warm  the  air 
thoroughly  by  passing  it  over  a  properly  con- 
structed heater,  and  then  pass  it  into  the  school- 
room. But,  in  order  to  make  the  air  circulate,  it  is 
just  as  necessary  that  provision  be  made  for  the 
foul  air  to  pass  out,  as  for  the  pure  air  to  get  in. 
The  place  of  escape  should  be  made  near  the  bottom 
of  the  room,  and  the  foul  air  should  pass  off  into  the 
chimney,  or  into  a  separate  flue  provided  for  the 
purpose. 

FURNITURE. — Usually  the  desks,  etc.,  are  pur- 
chased without  consulting  the  teacher ;  but  he 
ought  to  be  able  to  show  the  people  that  it  is  much 
better  to  supply  convenient,  well-made,  and  well- 
finished  desks,  instead  of  the  coarse  desks  that  a 
common  carpenter  can  make  of  ordinary  lumber. 


1 20  Pedagogy. 


The  cost  is  but  little  greater,  for  those  who  manu- 
facture school  furniture  as  a  business  select  their 
lumber,  dry  it  thoroughly,  and  do  most  of  the  work 
by  machinery.  Hence,  they  can  make  it  durable, 
tasteful,  and  at  a  moderate  cost.  Such  furniture  in 
itself  teaches  the  pupils  useful  lessons;  besides,  it 
does  not  offer  the  same  temptations  to  rude  boys 
that  rough,  uncouth  furniture  does.  Few  boys  will 
try  their  jack-knives  on  well-made,  handsomely 
finished  desks. 

APPARATUS. — As  a  part  of  the  furniture,  we 
would  class  books  for  reference,  globes,  maps,  and 
other  apparatus.  It  often  happens  that  it  depends 
almost  wholly  on  the  teacher  how  much  of  such 
furnishings  there  shall  be,  and  of  what  kind.  If 
there  is  a  lack  in  this  respect,  a  teacher  who  is 
really  in  earnest  will  attend  to  the  matter.  Gener- 
ally, he  may  get  what  he  needs  by  making  proper 
representations  to  the  school  authorities.  If  he  can 
not  do  it  in  this  way,  he  or  his  pupils  may  raise 
money  by  circulating  a  subscription  paper ;  or  some 
entertainment  may  be  given  by  the  school,  to  which 
a  small  fee  may  be  charged.  A  very  acceptable 
entertainment  may  be  prepared  with  but  little,  if 
any,  interruption  of  the  regular  school  work.  In 
fact,  the  exercises  may  consist  largely  of  readings, 
compositions,  and  other  exercises  which  belong  to 
the  regular  work.  It  is  better  that  the  teacher 
should  not  contribute  very  freely  of  his  own  money 
for  these  objects;  remember  that  people  prize  the 
things  they  pay  for. 


The  School.  121 


CONDITION  OF  THE  HOUSE. — The  teacher  should 
see  that  the  house  and  all  the  premises  are  in  good 
condition  when  he  takes  charge  of  them.  If  re- 
pairs are  needed,  he  should  stipulate  with  his  direc- 
tors to  have  them  made,  when  he  makes  his  bargain 
with  them ;  it  may  be  well  to  put  this  stipulation 
into  the  written  contract, — for  there  ought  always 
to  be  a  written  contract.  He  should  see,  also,  that 
the  house  is  clean  when  he  takes  it,  and  then  he 
should  see  that  it  is  kept  so.  To  this  end,  scrapers 
and  mats  should  be  provided,  and  should  be  used. 
As  often  as  may  be  necessary,  the  house  should  be 
cleansed.  The  old-fashioned  way  of  having  teacher 
and  pupils  gather  on  Saturday  and  clean  the  house 
is  not  a  bad  one.  It  furnishes  a  good  deal  of  fun, 
and  at  the  same  time  gives  the  pupils  a  sense  of 
responsibility  in  the  matter. 

If  the  house  is  clean,  well  warmed,  and  well  ven- 
tilated, it  is  likely  to  be  comfortable ;  but  the  win- 
dows should  be  supplied  with  some  kind  of  shades 
to  regulate  the  amount  of  light.  If  there  are  no 
interior  blinds,  very  good  shades  can  be  made  of 
cloth  or  of  stout  paper.  The  room  should  be  made 
cheerful  by  pictures,  mottoes,  busts,  and  other  or- 
naments,— even  simple  wreaths  of  leaves  are  better 
than  nothing.  If  the  teacher  own  articles  that  will 
ornament  the  room,  he  may  use  them  for  this  pur- 
pose for  a  time.  But  it  is  better  that  he  should 
get  the  pupils  to  help  him  obtain  them,  in  some 
way,  so  that  the  school  may  own  them.  The  sense 
of  ownership  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  assists  in 

Fed.— 11. 


122  Pedagogy. 


the    education    which    they    will     get    from    these 
things,  whose  influence  is  sure  to  be  a  lasting  one. 

Organization.  — What  is  it  to  organize  any 
thing?  In  the  Greek  language  is  the  word  ergon, — 
spelled  with  Roman  letters — which  signifies  a  work. 
The  root  letters  of  this  word  are  rg  or  rgn,  and 
these  letters  express  the  original  idea.  The  same 
letters  are  found  in  the  words  organ,  urge,  energy, 
thaumaturgy,  and  many  others, — all  these  words 
express  in  some  form  the  idea  of  work.  To  or- 
ganize any  thing  is  to  put  it  in  a  condition  to  do 
some  specific  work.  Why  is  this  word  appropri- 
ately applied  to  the  musical  instrument  so  called 
rather  than  to  a  violin  or  a  cornet?  Why  is  it 
proper  to  call  the  hand  or  the  eye  an  organ  of  the 
body? 

What  may  be  organized?  Any  thing  which  by 
organization  is  prepared  to  perform  a  work. 
Hence,  a  legislative  body,  a  town-meeting,  any 
public  assembly,  an  army,  or  a  school,  needs  to  be 
organized  before  it  can  enter  upon  its  proper  work. 
To  organize  includes  arrangement,  but  it  means 
something  more ;  for  example,  the  books  of  a 
library  may  be  arranged,  but  a  library  can  not  be 
organized. 

To  organize  a  school  is  so  to  adjust  its  parts  and 
forces  that  it  may  do  the  proper  work  of  a  school. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  work  of  a 
school  is  two-fold  ;  viz. ,  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  developing  and  disciplining  of  powers. 


The  School.  123 


FIRST  DAY'S  WORK. — An  old  proverb  says, 
"Well  begun  is  half  done."  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  truth  in  this,  especially  in  a  school.  On  the 
first  day,  the  pupils  of  a  school  are  more  than  usu- 
ally wide-awake  and  observant.  The  teacher  may 
fancy  that  he  is  taking  their  measure ;  but  he  may 
be  sure  that  they  are  taking  his,  quite  as  certainly 
and  quite  as  accurately.  The  impression  from  this 
day  will  remain  through  the  term.  If  that  impres- 
sion is  a  good  one,  it  is  not  certain  that  the  term's 
work  will  succeed  ;  but,  in  that  case,  if  the  teacher 
fail,  he  will  fail  in  spite  of  a  decided  advantage. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  first  day's  work  is  poor, 
future  success  will  be  uphill  work. 

PREVIOUS  KNOWLEDGE. — It  is  important  that  the 
teacher  should  go  to  his  first  day's  work  furnished 
with  all  the  knowledge  he  can  possibly  have  con- 
cerning the  house,  the  neighborhood,  the  pupils 
and  their  previous  progress.  He  may  gain  this 
knowledge  by  visiting  the  district,  inspecting  the 
school-house,  conversing  with  the  former  teacher, 
the  directors,  and  others,  and  by  examining  the 
records  of  the  pupils'  progress  and  standing,  if  any 
have  been  kept.  It  ought  to  be  required  of  every 
teacher  that  he  should  keep,  and  leave  in  perma- 
nent form,  such  records  of  his  school  as  would  give 
his  successor  fairly  complete  information  concerning 
all  the  pupils. 

In  seeking  knowledge  concerning  his  future  school,  the 
teacher  should  not  allow  himself  to  be  biased  by  neighbor- 
hood quarrels  and  jealousies ;  nor  should  he  impress  his 


124  Pedagogy. 


patrons  with  the  notion  that  he  is  over-anxious  to  obtain  their 
views  on  schools  and  education.  He  ought  not  to  lead  them 
to  think  that  he  is  as  pliable  as  the  good-natured  teacher  who 
was  willing  to  teach  that  the  earth  is  round  or  flat,  just  as  his 
patrons  should  choose. 

DEFINITE  PLANS. — It  is  of  great  importance  that 
the  teacher  enter  the  school-house,  on  the  first 
morning,  with  a  complete  and  definite  plan  of  the 
work  he  proposes  to  do  that  day,  and  of  the  order 
in  which  the  several  steps  are  to  be  taken.  Few 
things  will  so  deeply  impress  his  pupils  with  the 
idea  that  he  is  a  master  of  his  business. 

PROMPTNESS. — The  teacher  should  be  on  time 
every  day ;  but  it  is  especially  important  that  he 
should  be  very  prompt  on  the  first  day.  If  he 
intends  to  be  at  the  house  fifteen  minutes  before 
school-time  on  other  days,  let  him  be  there  half  an 
hour  before  time  on  this  morning.  The  pupils  are 
usually  present  early  on  the  first  day,  and  the 
mere  presence  of  the  teacher  may  prevent  the  or- 
ganization of  mischievous  schemes ;  besides,  the 
furniture  will  need  to  be  put  in  order,  etc.  He 
should  greet  his  pupils  cordially,  but  not  show  him- 
self too  anxious  to  become  familiar.  He  should 
have  his  eyes  wide  open  without  seeming  to  be 
specially  observant.  If  he  detect  some  pupil  whose 
look  or  manner  seems  to  forebode  trouble,  it  may 
be  well  to  ask  such  a  pupil  pleasantly  to  assist  in 
some  of  the  work  of  preparation. 

Signals. — At  the  exact  moment,  the  signal  for 
order  should  be  given.  If  the  house  is  furnished 


The  ScJiooL  125 


with  a  large  bell,  a  warning  signal  may  be  given 
about  ten  minutes  before  the  time  to  begin,  to  be 
followed  by  another  slighter  signal  at  the  exact 
time  to  begin.  It  is  not  well  to  give  signals  by 
pounding  on  the  house  with  a  ruler,  nor  in  other 
uncouth  ways ;  this  is  not  putting  things  to  their 
appropriate  use.  Bells  have  been  used  as  signals 
for  ages, — this  is  their  chief  purpose. 

The  slightest  signal  is  the  best,  provided  it  is  suffi- 
cient. A  single,  sharp  tap  of  the  bell  means  more 
than  a  prolonged  ringing, — it  says,  "Come  now;" 
but  the  long  ringing  says,  "Come,  after  awhile." 

A  visitor  once  passed  an  hour  in  one  of  those  schools  that 
seem  to  move  like  clock-work  without  any  effort  on  the  part 
of  anybody ; — no  school  ever  really  moves  in  that  way,  how- 
ever. The  visitor  was  especially  impressed  with  the  prompt 
and  exact  manner  in  which  the  classes  arose  and  passed  to 
recitation, — there  seemed  to  be  no  signal.  After  the  session, 
she  asked  a  little  girl  belonging  to  one  of  the  classes  how  the 
pupils  knew  when  to  rise  and  pass.  "Why,"  said  she,  "did 
you  not  see  the  master  move  his  thumb?" 

ASSIGNING  WORK. — As  soon  as  the  school  is  in 
order,  work  should  begin.  Two  minutes  or  less 
is  time  enough  for  the  teacher's  inaugural, — a  few 
words  of  greeting,  a  hope  for  diligence,  good  con- 
duct, and  success,  heartily  spoken, — this  is  enough. 
If  devotional  exercises  are  to  be  had  on  other 
mornings  in  the  term,  they  should  begin  now.  As 
soon  as  they  are  over,  some  work,  carefully  ar- 
ranged beforehand,  should  be  given  immediately  to 
each  pupil,  except  perhaps  the  very  youngest. 


126  Pedagogy. 


Examples  may  be  put  on  the  board  for  those  who 
have  been  through  the  "ground  rules"  of  arithme- 
tic, another  set  for  those  more  advanced,  a  spelling 
lesson  for  the  younger  ones,  some  exact  task  for 
the  classes  in  geography,  etc.; — let  each  pupil  feel 
that  a  responsibility  is  put  upon  him.  It  makes 
little  difference  what  the  work  is,  only  it  must  be 
useful,  reasonable,  and  definite.  Fix  an  exact  time 
at  which  the  results  will  be  called  for,  and  do  not 
neglect  it  when  the  time  comes. 

TAKING  NAMES. — As  soon  as  all  are  at  work,  the 
teacher  may  proceed  to  take  the  names ;  this  should 
be  done  with  the  least  demonstration  possible.  If 
any  pupils  are  working  at  the  board,  let  them  write 
their  names  beside  their  work;  give  the  older 
pupils  slips  of  paper  on  which  to  write  their  names ; 
pass  to  the  others,  and  take  their  names  in  a  whis- 
per or  in  a  low  tone  of  voice.  Be  sure  to  spell  all 
the  names  correctly.  It  is  very  essential  that  the 
teacher  learn  to  put  the  names  and  their  owners 
together  as  soon  as  possible.  A  pupil  is  impressed 
very  differently  when  his  teacher  calls  him  promptly 
by  name,  from  what  he  will  be  if  the  teacher  desig- 
nates him  as  the  boy  on  the  back  seat,  the  boy 
with  a  red  necktie,  etc.  He  feels  that,  in  the 
teacher's  mind,  he  has  passed  out  of  the  limbo  in- 
dicated by  "boy"  into  the  field  of  true  personality. 
Besides,  as  the  pupils  are  so  familiar  with  their  own 
names,  they  feel  that  it  is  an  indication  of  weak- 
ness for  a  grown  man, — a  teacher, — to  be  ignorant 
of  what  is  so  easy  to  them. 


The  School.  127 


Learning  Names.  — To  assist  in  learning  the 
names,  it  will  be  well  for  the  teacher  to  be  supplied 
with  a  plan  or  map  of  the  school-room ;  then,  as 
soon  as  he  ascertains  a  pupil's  name,  let  him  write 
it  in  the  proper  place  on  his  plan  ;  of  course,  the 
pupils  will  have  been  informed  that  they  are  to 
retain  their  present  seats  until  they  are  changed  by 
the  teacher's  order  or  permission.  Having  the  plan 
before  him,  with  all  the  names  in  their  proper 
places,  a  careful  glance  from  time  to  time  at  the 
name  and  face  which  belong  together  will  soon  as- 
sociate them.  He  is  a  weak  teacher  in  this  respect 
who  can  not  learn  to  call  each  pupil,  in  a  school  of 
forty,  promptly  by  name  at  the  close  of  the  third 
half-day. 

TEMPORARY  CLASSIFICATION. — It  is  not  wise  to 
attempt  to  classify  completely  at  first.  Adopt  the 
classes  of  the  previous  term,  put  new  pupils  where 
they  seem  to  belong,  taking  care  not  to  class  them 
too  high ;  let  the  pupils  distinctly  understand  that 
this  is  all  for  the  present,  and  that  any  changes  will 
be  made  as  soon  as  you  think  best  to  make  them. 
Having  thus  arranged  the  classes,  assign  each  a  reg- 
ular lesson.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day,  put 
a  temporary  programme  on  the  board;  and,  by  the 
second  day,  the  school  should  be  working  in  regu 
lar  order. 


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CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SCHOOL. — Concluded. 

Classifying. — Let  us  now  consider  more  fully 
the  question  of  classifying  a  school.  There  are 
those  who  consider  classification  as  an  unmixed 
evil,  and  hold  that,  in  the  best  schools,  there  will 
be  no  classes.  They  say  that  all  instruction  should 
be  directed  to  the  individual  needs  of  the  pupils. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  such  a 
theory,  to  say  that  it  is  wholly  impracticable  in  our 
public  schools ;  the  number  that  must  be  taught  by 
a  single  teacher  is  so  great  that  the  pupils  must  be 
put  in  classes  in  order  that  the  work  may  be  done 
at  all.  But  this  is  not  all  that  can  be  said ;  there 
are  other  advantages  besides  a  saving  of  time,  as  we 
shall  hope  to  show.  But,  in  order  to  understand 
more  fully  the  saving  of  time,  let  us  consider  the 
meaning  of  three  words :  tell,  teach,  and  train. 

TELL,  TEACH,  AND  TRAIN  have  a  similarity  in 
sound ;  they  resemble  one  another  in  meaning,  also. 
But  it  is  very  important  that  they  be  not  used  as 
synonymous.  Let  us  examine  their  different  mean- 
ings. To  tell  a  thing  is  simply  to  relate  it,  to  say 
over  words  that  are  fitted  to  convey  a  certain  mean- 
ing, without  any  special  care  as  to  whether  the 

(129) 


130  Pedagogy. 


hearer  really  gets  that  meaning  from  them  or  not. 
To  teach  a  thing,  we  must  not  only  put  it  before 
the  learner,  but  we  must  see  to  it  that  every  step 
is  thoroughly  understood ;  this  includes  telling,  and 
something  more.  Teaching  involves  the  labor  of 
two  parties.  Training  includes  all  that  teaching 
does ;  besides,  it  requires  of  the  one  who  is  trained 
that  he  put  into  practice  that  which  he  has  been 
told  and  taught.  And  no  work  of  education  is  of 
much  value  that  does  not  take  the  form  of  training ; 
for  all  education  worth  the  name  results  in  habit, 
and  habit  is  formed  by  training. 

To  illustrate,  suppose  a  youth  enters  the  shop  of 
a  blacksmith  in  order  to  learn  the  art  of  shoeing 
horses.  Perhaps  his  master  might  tell  him  all 
about  the  making  and  setting  of  a  horse-shoe  in 
half  an  hour ;  but  he  would  not  be  taught  how  to 
shoe  a  horse  in  that  way.  Suppose,  instead,  the 
master  should  tell  him  only  a  small  part  of  the 
matter,  and  then  require  the  apprentice  to  recite 
the  next  day  what  he  had  been  told,  and  to 
answer  test  questions  to  show  that  he  fully  compre- 
hended it  all.  If  this  were  continued  a  few  days, 
the  youth  might  acquire  all  the  knowledge  necessary 
to  shoe  a  horse ;  and,  if  he  were  a  fluent  talker,  he 
might  impart  this  knowledge  more  clearly  and  more 
glibly  than  his  master.  But  can  he  shoe  a  horse? 
Of  course  not ;  no  one  thinks  of  mastering  a  trade 
in  this  way. 

On  the  contrary,  when  a  boy  enters  the  shop,  his 
master  will  tell  him  how  to  do  some  simple  part  of 


The  School.  131 


the  work,  and  then  set  him -to  doing  it.  When  he 
can  do  this  part  well,  he  is  put  to  doing  another 
part.  In  this  way,  by  a  little  telling  and  teaching, 
followed  by  much  practice,  the  master  trains  him 
until  he  can  make  and  set  a  horse-shoe  as  easily  as 
he  can  walk.  It  has  become  a  habit. 

In  a  similar  way,  all  the  effective  work  of  the 
school-room  takes  the  form  of  training;  or,  at 
least,  leads  to  it.  The  pupil  must  be  shown  how 
the  letters  are  combined  into  the  correct  spelling  of 
words,  and  then  he  must  write  them  until  the 
letters  flow  from  his  pen  almost  without  thought. 
His  processes  in  arithmetic,  if  he  really  master  the 
subject,  become  almost  automatic.  Training  in  the 
use  of  good  English,  both  spoken  and  written, 
should  be  kept  up  until  a  slip  will  give  him  a  shock, 
as  something  unnatural.  Similar  things  may  be 
said  about  every  study  of  the  school ;  when  they 
are  properly  managed,  they  all  involve  more  or  less 
of  telling,  teaching,  and  training  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher.  But  training  is  the  most  important  of  the 
three, — it  should  be  the  great  business  of  the 
school. 

Nor  is  this  fact  any  less  important  in  a  moral  education 
than  in  an  intellectual  one.  Very  significant  are  the  words 
of  the  wise  man  :  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  ; 
and  when  he  is  old,  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  No  doubt 
many  a  disconsolate  parent,  as  he  weeps  over  a  wayward 
child  who  has  "  set  at  naught  all  his  counsels  and  would  none 
of  his  reproofs,"  is  inclined  to  doubt  the  truth  of  Solomon's 
language.  But,  probably,  if  he  would  think  the  matter  over 
carefully,  he  would  find  that  he  has  only  given  his  son  "coun- 


UHI7IRSITY 


132  Pedagogy. 


sels,"  teachings  as  to  the  right  way,  but  has  never  "trained 
him  up"  in  the  right  way  at  all. 

SAVES  TIME. — In  all  the  processes  of  telling, 
teaching,  and  training,  classification  saves  time,  but 
not  in  the  same  proportion.  In  telling,  the  gain  is 
directly  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  class ;  one 
can  tell  a  thing  to  as  many  as  can  hear  him,  in  the 
same  time  it  would  take  to  tell  it  to  one.  If  he  is 
careful  to  teach  what  he  tells,  the  saving  is  not  so 
great,  but  it  is  still  considerable.  In  training,  per- 
haps the  saving  is  still  less ;  nevertheless,  one  can 
train  twenty  in  a  class  in  much  less  time  than  it 
would  "take  to  train  them  singly. 

ENTHUSIASM  FROM  NUMBERS. — Another  advantage 
of  classes  is  that  numbers  awaken  enthusiasm. 
Politicians  understand  this  well  ;  hence  their 
anxiety  to  have  a  large  attendance  at  their 
"rallies."  Nor  can  observant  teachers  have  failed 
to  notice  the  difference  in  this  respect  between 
classes  of  reasonable  size  and  very  small  classes  or 
individual  students. 

MUTUAL  HELP. — The  help  that  students  derive 
from  each  other  is  no  small  gain.  If  there  is  the 
earnestness  and  freedom  of  thought  and  expression 
that  ought  to  prevail  in  a  class,  each  contributes 
something  to  the  common  stock,  and  not  seldom 
a  pupil  will  suggest  something  that  would  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  teacher.  Besides,  a  good 
thing  said  by  one  of  the  class  is  very  likely  to  im- 
press itself  on  the  other  members  more  than  it  would 
if  the  same  thing  had  been  said  by  the  teacher. 


The  School.  133 


Of  course,  there  is  a  kind  of  mutual  help  that  is 
very  hurtful ;  when  a  few  of  the  class  do  all  the 
work,  all  the  thinking,  and  the  others  merely  bor- 
row from  them,  an  evil  exists  for  which  the  wise 
teacher  will  strenuously  exert  himself  to  find  a 
remedy. 

HABIT  OF  WORKING  TOGETHER. — No  man  in  this 
world  can  do  very  great  things  alone, — all  great 
enterprises  are  carried  forward  by  many  combining 
and  working  together.  But  when  men  work  to- 
gether, they  are  obliged  to  regard  one  another's 
wants  and  peculiarities,  to  adapt  themselves  to  each 
other,  to  give  up  some  things  that  they  might  re- 
tain if  they  were  working  alone.  Since  this  is  the 
case,  it  would  seem  that  class-work  will  educate 
young  persons  in  a  very  important  matter  which 
solitary  work  does  not  touch ;  hence,  in  this  re- 
spect, it  is  claimed  that  class-work  is  more  practical 
than  solitary  work. 

The  only  apparent  drawback  to  class-work  is  the 
danger  that  individual  peculiarities  and  needs  will 
be  neglected,  and  this  may  be  very  serious.  But 
the  wise  teacher,  aware  that  such  a  danger  exists, 
will  be  very  careful  to  reduce  the  harm  coming 
from  it  to  a  minimum. 

SIZE  OF  CLASSES. — Whatever  advantages  may  be 
claimed  for  any  classification  would  seem  to  weigh 
in  favor  of  large  classes ;  the  limit  will  be  reached 
with  the  number  whom  the  teacher  can  make  hear 
him.  But  the  disadvantage  will  weigh  in  favor  of 
small  classes,  and  the  limit  is  one  person.  The 


134  Pedagogy. 


large  class  saves  more  time,  develops  more  enthu- 
siasm, etc.,  while  the  small  class  gives  more  oppor- 
tunity to  regard  individual  needs  and  peculiarities. 
It  is  believed  that  for  older  pupils  thirty  in  a  class 
are  quite  enough  ;  twenty  is  a  better  number ;  ten 
are  too  few.  For  little  children,  fifteen  make  a 
large  class ;  ten  are  about  right ;  five  are  too  few. 

BASES  OF  CLASSIFICATION. — If  a  teacher  should 
put  his  blue-eyed  children  in  one  class,  and  the 
black  eyes  in  another ;  or  if  he  should  put  all  of  a 
certain  height  or  weight  together,  every  one  would 
see  the  absurdity  of  the  performance.  It  is  scarcely 
less  absurd  to  put  a  boy  into  a  certain  class  because 
of  his  age,  or  family,  or  the  wealth  or  position  of 
his  father,  than  to  put  him  there  because  of  the 
color  of  his  eyes.  Perhaps,  however,  it  is  proper 
to  put  a  backward  pupil  who  is  somewhat  mature 
into  a  class  a  little  higher  than  his  acquirements 
would  indicate,  because  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  he 
may  work  somewhat  harder  than  the  pupils  of  the 
same  standing  who  are  less  mature. 

In  many  country  schools,  the  classes  are  greatly 
multiplied  because  of  diversity  of  text-books ;  this 
is  a  cause  of  loud  and  bitter  complaint  on  the  part 
of  many  teachers.  Probably  it  is  better  that  the 
text-books  should  be  uniform ;  but  it  is  very  foolish 
to  put  pupils  who  are  of  the  same  grade,  or  nearly 
the  same,  into  different  classes  merely  because  their 
books  are  not  alike.  There  is  no  possible  excuse 
for  this  in  any  but  a  class  in  reading.  Can  not  a 
class  get  a  lesson  on  compound  fractions  from  two 


The  School.  135 


or  three  different  authors  ?  Can  they  not  manage  a 
lesson  on  the  geography  of  Ohio,  using  different 
text-books  ?  In  fact,  a  skillful  teacher  can  turn  this 
diversity  to  advantage. 

TRUE  BASES. — The  true  bases  of  classification  are 
two<  in  number;  viz.,  present  acquirements  and 
general  ability.  Of  these  two,  the  latter  is  of  more 
importance,  although  the  former  is  more  easily 
ascertained ;  and  very  often  it  seems  to  be  the  only 
thing  regarded.  General  ability  includes  natural 
aptness,  maturity  of  mind,  good  habits  of  study, 
health,  etc., — a  simple  examination  does  not  readily 
disclose  all  these  elements. 

MODE  OF  CLASSIFICATION. — In  order  to  classify  a 
new  school,  the  teacher  must  do  one  of  two  things; 
viz.,  adopt  a  rough  and  temporary  classification  at 
first,  and  then  correct  it  as  fast  as  possible,  or  keep 
his  whole  school  in  a  state  of  chaos  till  he  can 
ascertain  the  correct  place  of  every  pupil.  We 
recommended  the  former  course  in  the  last  chapter. 
As  soon  as  the  temporary  classification  is  adopted, 
and  the  school  set  to  work,  the  teacher  should 
begin  to  study  carefully  to  see  what  pupils  are  in 
the  right  classes,  and  what  ones  ought  to  be 
changed.  To  this  end,  every  recitation  is  an  ex- 
amination. Probably,  most  will  be  found  to  be  in 
the  proper  classes ;  then,  for  a  few  lessons,  let  at- 
tention be  given  almost  exclusively  to  those  whose 
standing  is  doubtful,  and  let  them  be  changed  as 
fast  as  the  proper  changes  can  be  determined.  It 
is  important  that  all  should  be  in  their  permanent 


136  Pedagogy. 


places  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  that  they  may 
enter  on  the  real  work  of  the  term,  and  that  all 
may  be  supplied  with  the  proper  text-books.  If 
there  are  no  more  than  forty  pupils  in  the  school, 
a  sharp  and  earnest  teacher  ought  to  have  all  in 
their  places  by  the  end  of  the  fifth  day,  or  the 
seventh  at  farthest. 

The  Programme. — No  work  anywhere  is  likely 
to  be  well  done  if  it  is  not  carefully  planned, — well 
mapped  out.  Certainly,  a  good  programme  is  one 
of  the  prime  necessities  of  a  good  school.  Of 
course,  the  teacher  may  have  such  a  programme  in 
his  own  mind ;  this  is  well  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  it 
is  better  for  him  and  for  the  school  to  have  it  care- 
fully written  out  and  posted  in  some  conspicuous 
place,  where  all  can  see  it.  If  the  blackboard  is 
scanty,  the  programme  may  be  written  neatly  on 
strong  manilla  paper.  In  a  school  of  small  chil- 
dren, the  programme  should  show  the  exact  time 
for  studying  each  subject,  as  well  as  the  time  to 
recite  it. 

ADVANTAGES. — There  are  two  decided  advantages 
in  having  a  well-prepared  programme,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  objection  to  it.  A  programme  is  a 
saving  of  time  to  teacher  and  pupils.  Without  it 
the  teacher  will  have  to  stop  and  consider  what  to 
do  next;  he  will  be  called  upon  also  to  answer 
many  questions  as  to  the  time  when  certain  classes 
will  recite,  etc.  The  pupils  will  waste  time  in  ask- 
ing such  questions,  or  in  querying  what  they  had 
better  do  next. 


The  School.  137 


The  programme  lays  a  responsibility  on  teacher 
and  pupil.  No  teacher  should  ever  ask  if  a  class  is 
ready  with  the  lesson ;  let  them  feel  that  when 
the  time  comes  they  are  responsible  for  the  lesson. 
A  sense  of  responsibility  is  the  beginning  of  every 
movement  towards  a  higher  plane.  The  programme 
is  a  very  important  educational  force.  By  it  the 
pupil  forms  the  habit  of  performing  his  duties  regu- 
larly, promptly,  and  according  to  a  plan.  Such  a 
habit  is  a  grand  preparation  for  the  emergencies  of 
life, — it  is  worth  more  than  the  acquisition  of  a 
science  or  a  language. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  PROGRAMME. — A  few  general 
hints  on  making  a  programme  may  be  given ;  but 
full  instructions  are  impossible  unless  one  could 
know  all  the  circumstances  and  conditions.  The 
time  should  be  wisely  distributed,  according  to  the 
number  of  classes,  their  size,  the  age  and  advance- 
ment of  the  pupils,  the  nature  of  the  study,  etc. 
Young  pupils  should  have  short  lessons,  and  have 
them  often ;  ten  minutes  is  long  enough  for  the 
little  children.  For  older  pupils  and  more  difficult 
subjects,  more  time  should  be  allowed ;  but  little 
can  be  done  with  an  advanced  class  in  Grammar  or 
Arithmetic  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  It  is  better 
for  such  classes  to  recite  on  alternate  days  than  to 
recite  every  day,  if  they  can  not  have  a  time  of 
reasonable  length  otherwise. 

The  first  recitation  in  each  half-day  should  be  one 
from  the  older  pupils,  prepared  out  of  school- 
hours,  or  one  from  the  little  children  who  make  no 

Fed.— 12. 


138  Pedagogy. 


preparation.  Younger  pupils  should  have  their  les- 
sons so  arranged  as  to  allow  a  time  to  study  each 
lesson  just  before  reciting  it.  No  study  like  writing 
or  drawing  should  immediately  follow  a  play-time. 
A  few  minutes  for  movements,  answering  questions, 
etc.,  should  be  allowed  at  regular  hours.  It  is 
often  well  to  arrange  the  lessons  so  as  to  dismiss 
the  younger  children  an  hour  earlier  than  the  rest ; 
it  is  a  relief  to  the  children,  to  the  teacher,  and  to 
the  older  pupils  as  well. 

How  CLOSELY  FOLLOW  THE  PROGRAMME? — There 
is  little  danger  of  following  the  programme  too 
closely ;  the  danger  is  all  on  the  other  side.  Each 
exercise  should  begin  and  end  at  the  exact  time 
noted.  If  the  teacher  is  likely  to  become  so  inter- 
ested in  his  work  as  to  overrun  his  time,  he  should 
appoint  some  pupil  to  give  the  signal;  and  when 
the  signal  is  given,  he  ought  to  obey  it  promptly. 
A  programme-clock  will  prevent  all  danger,  if  it  is 
properly  used.  If  the  teacher  should  chance  to 
finish  his  lesson  before  the  time  allotted  expires,  he 
may  give  the  class  something  extra  in  the  way  of 
information ;  if,  however,  he  "has  nothing  that  is 
worth  giving,  he  should  dismiss  the  class. 

Grading. — There  is  no  essential  difference  be- 
tween graded  schools  and  well  classified  schools ; 
the  different  grades  are  but  classes  put  into  the 
hands  of  different  teachers.  A  system  of  graded 
schools  should  always  have  an  able  and  well  quali- 
fied superintendent  at  its  head.  Of  course,  such  a 
person  ought  to  command  a  good  salary,  but  he 


The  School.  139 


can  use  teachers  of  less  experience  under  his  direc- 
tion and  supervision ;  and,  in  that  way,  better  work 
may  be  done,  and  at  less  cost  than  would  be  neces- 
sary if  only  those  teachers  were  employed  who  could 
be  trusted  to  do  their  work  without  supervision.  No 
one  ought  to  attempt  the  supervision  of  a  system 
of  graded  schools  without  giving  the  subject  very 
careful  thought  and  study.  The  annual  reports  of 
the  schools  in  cities  like  St.  Louis,  Boston,  Cincin- 
nati, and  Chicago  will  possess  much  interest  for  a 
superintendent. 

The  great  danger  in  graded  schools  is  that  the 
grades  will  be  made  too  inflexible,  and  thus  the 
individual  will  be  sacrificed  to  the  system.  A  wise 
superintendent  will  devise  ways  to  prevent  this,  and 
to  allow  each  student  to  progress  as  fast  as  he  is 
able,  and  no  faster. 


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CHAPTER  XIV. 

MANAGEMENT. 

IT  is  hardly  proper  to  discuss  the  relative  value 
of  good  management  in  schools,  as  compared  with 
instruction  and  training.  In  a  certain  sense  the 
management  is  subsidiary,  of  course ;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  no  school  can  be  well  instructed  if  it  is 
not  well  managed.  As  for  the  training,  a  large  and 
very  valuable  part  of  it  results  directly  from  good 
management.  The  necessity  of  thoughtful  attention 
to  the  matter  of  management  becomes  apparent 
when  we  remember  how  many  teachers  well  quali- 
fied to  instruct  fail  because  they  are  not  able  to 
manage.  Probably  the  larger  part  of  the  failures 
are  due  to  this  cause. 

Voice. — A  good,  well-managed  voice  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  is  one  of  the  most  effective  aids  in 
managing  a  school.  Such  a  voice  is  not  loud ;  but 
it  is  clear,  distinct,  pitched  on  a  low  key,  and  gen- 
erally it  speaks  with  the  falling  inflection.  When 
such  a  voice  speaks,  there  is  always  a  quality  in  it 
that  indicates  deliberate  thought,  purpose,  and  de- 
termination ;  in  short,  such  a  voice  says  that  a  man 
or  a  woman  stands  behind  it.  Not  all  people  are 
equally  endowed  with  good  voices ;  but  any  real 

(141) 


142  Pedagogy. 


man  or  woman  whose  vocal  organs  are  not  seriously 
defective  may  acquire  a  good  voice. 

Eye. — The  teacher's  eye  may  be  another  most 
effective  instrument  of  management.  A  teacher 
who  knows  how  may  answer  a  question,  give  a 
command,  grant  a  request,  or  quell  a  rising  dis- 
turbance by  a  glance  of  the  eye.  An  eye  that  can 
do  this  is  wakeful,  alert,  expressive,  and  resolute, — 
like  the  effective  voice,  it  must  be  recognized  as 
having  an  effective  personality  behind  it.  If  a 
teacher  who  can  use  his  eye  in  this  way  suspects 
that  mischief  is  going  on  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
room,  he  does  not  rush  to  the  scene  of  the  disturb- 
ance, nor  shout  to  the  offender;  but,  keeping  his 
eye  steadily  fixed  in  that  quarter,  he  waits  till  he 
can  catch  the  offender's  eye,  and  then  settles  the 
whole  trouble  by  a  look.  Very  likely,  no  other 
pupil  knows  any  thing  of  what  is  going  on,  and  the 
quiet  of  the  school  is  not  disturbed  in  the  least. 

Government. — A  large  part  of  school  manage- 
ment consists  in  government,  but  by  no  means  all 
of  it. 

GOVERNMENT  is  the  exercise  of  authority. 

It  is  causing  the  will  of  the  governed  party  to 
yield  to  the  will  of  the  governor.  It  must  be 
clearly  seen  that  one  does  not  govern  by  hiring, 
coaxing,  wheedling,  or  exhorting.  Some  of  these 
things  may  be  very  proper  to  do  at  times;  but  let 
no  one  deceive  himself  with  the  notion  that  he  is 
governing  when  he  does  them. 


Management.  1 43 


REASON  FOR  IT. — But  here  the  question  of  the 
ground  of  government  must  be  met.  What  right 
has  one  in  authority  to  ask, — to  compel,  if  need 
be — other  wills  to  yield  to  his?  A  great  many 
partial  answers  may  be  given,  which  are  correct  as 
far  as  they  go :  but  they  may  all  be  included  in 
this: 

One  in  aiitJiority  lias  a  right  to  govern  for  the  good 
of  the  governed  only. 

No  human  government,  —  in  school,  family, 
church,  or  state, — has  any  right  to  exist  for  a 
moment  upon  any  other  ground.  Is  it  not  proba- 
ble, also,  that  this  is  the  reason  for  Divine 
government?  Men  have  not  always  looked  at  gov- 
ernment in  this  way,  as  we  have  abundant  proof 
from  history ;  nor  do  all  who  rule  to-day  observe 
the  principle,  even  if  they  recognize  it  in  theory. 

Government,  everywhere  and  always,  should  rest  on  clear 
intelligence,  and  not  on  the  feeling  of  the  one  who  adminis- 
ters it.  The  fickle  nature  of  a  government  by  feeling  is  often 
illustrated  by  the  popular  clamor  for  the  death  of  a  criminal 
when  some  crime  of  great  atrocity  has  shocked  a  community, 
followed  by  the  same  persons,  perhaps,  signing  a  petition  for 
the  pardon  of  the  criminal  when  he  has  been  legally  con- 
victed of  the  very  crime  that  so  moved  them  before, — but 
after  their  feelings  have  had  time  to  change.  In  this  case,  feel- 
ing, in  both  its  exhibitions,  strives  to  effect  wrong  purposes. 

PERSONAL  FEELING. — A  just  recognition  of  these 
principles  will  not  allow  personal  feeling  of  any 
kind  to  control  in  matters  of  government.  The 


1 44  Pedagogy. 


teacher  should  ask,  and  honestly  answer,  a  single 
question  in  respect  to  any  exercise  of  his  authority 
that  he  proposes ;  that  question  is,  Will  this  be  for 
the  good  of  my  pupils  ?  This  will  apply  to  all  re- 
quirements, rules,  regulations,  refusals,  permissions, 
reproofs,  and  even  punishments ;  not,  Will  this 
thing  give  me  ease,  or  power,  or  popularity,  but, 
Will  it  benefit  my  pupils,  one  or  all  ? 

To  be  sure,  good  government  in  school  will  bene- 
fit the  teacher  in  many  ways,  but  his  benefit  is  no 
just  ground  for  any  act  of  authority.  The  world  is 
so  constituted  that  well  doing  usually  benefits  more 
than  one  party;  like  mercy,  "it  is  twice  bless'd. " 
Many  of  the  richest  blessings  of  life  and  experience 
come  to  us  incidentally,  and  will  come  in  no  other 
way.  Seek  happiness  directly,  and  you  will  miss 
it ;  go  forward  in  the  way  of  duty,  and  it  will  seek 
you. 

If  the  teacher  manages  and  governs  solely  for  the 
good  of  his  pupils,  they  will  be  sure  to  discover 
the  fact,  although  he  may  say  nothing  of  his 
motives  in  the  case, — as  the  wise  teacher  probably 
will  not.  When  the  teacher  rules  in  this  way,  and 
his  pupils  come  to  know  and  feel  the  fact,  the  an- 
tagonism that  sometimes  exists  between  teacher 
and  pupils,  as  between  two  hostile  parties,  is  no 
longer  possible  to  any  intelligent,  right  meaning 
pupil.  He  will  feel  that  there  is  the  same  single 
aim  proper  for  teacher  and  pupils ;  viz. ,  the  best 
good  of  the  pupils.  When  antagonism  between 
teacher  and  pupils  disappears,  there  is  harmony  in 


Management.  1 45 


place  of  discord,  peace  instead  of  war,  and  efficiency 
in  place  of  wasted  effort. 

Punishment. — The  principle  we  have  been  con- 
sidering has  a  very  important  relation  to  the  subject 
of  punishment.  Punishment,  or  the  possibility  of 
punishment,  is  essential  to  the  very  idea  of  govern- 
ment. A  requirement  that  implies  no  penalty  may 
be  a  request  or  an  exhortation ;  it  is  not  a  law. 
There  can  be  no  law  without  some  penalty  to  follow 
its  infraction.  A  government  that  will  never  hurt 
is  a  government  in  name  only,  not  in  reality. 

"  PUNISHMENT  is  pain  inflicted  on  an  offender,  by 
competent  authority,  cither  to  reform  Jiim  or  to  deter 
others,  or  for  both  purposes." 

That  which  causes  no  pain  or  loss  can  not  be 
punishment, — nor  is  it  possible  to  punish  any  one 
but  an  offender,  however  much  pain  we  may  cause 
him  to  feel.  Nor  can  any  one  not  in  authority 
punish,  however  much  deserved  pain  he  may  visit 
on  an  offender.  Nor  does  proper  authority  punish 
when  it  inflicts  deserved  pain  on  an  offender,  unless 
it  be  done  with  the  right  purpose.  If  it  were 
necessary,  all  these  essentials  to  the  true  idea  of 
punishment  might  be  fully  illustrated  from  school- 
life.  In  the  state,  there  is  another  proper  purpose 
of  punishment;  viz.,  the  vindication  of  justice; 
but  in  school,  it  is  enough  to  regard  the  two  we 
have  mentioned,  and  generally  we  should  lose  sight 
of  neither  of  these. 

Fed.— 13. 


146  Pedagogy . 


IMPROPER. — Often  we  find  forms  of  so-called  pun- 
ishment in  school  that  are  base,  cruel,  and  wholly 
unworthy  the  name.  Among  such,  are  all  degrad- 
ing or  brutal  punishments, — such  as  shutting  in  the 
dark,  pulling  hair,  pinching  the  cheeks,  indiscrim- 
inate hitting  and  switching,  and  all  forms  of  torture, 
some  of  which,  like  "  holding  a  nail  in  the  floor," 
were  often  resorted  to  in  the  old-time  school.  In 
this  list  should  be  put  all  angry  and  vengeful  pun- 
ishments, and  all  unreasonable  sarcasm  and  ridicule. 
None  of  these  abominations,  and  others  that  might 
be  mentioned,  are  worthy  of  a  decent  teacher. 
Among  proper  punishments  we  may  name  loss  of 
rank,  forfeiture  of  privileges,  imposition  of  tasks, 
reprimand,  private  and  public,  etc. ;  but  any  punish- 
ment, the  most  proper  in  form,  becomes  improper 
if  administered  in  a  wrong  spirit  by  the  teacher. 

Some  writers,  notably  Herbert  Spencer,  declare  that  all 
punishment  should  in  some  way  be  related  to  the  offense  in 
kind  or  in  sequence ;  for  instance,  if  one  comes  late  to  school, 
punish  him  by  making  him  stay  after  school  as  many  minutes 
as  he  was  tardy.  No  doubt  it  is  well  to  observe  such  adapta- 
tion when  it  can  well  be  done ;  but,  in  many  cases,  it  seems 
hardly  possible. 

CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT. — When  the  pain  inflicted 
by  punishment  falls  upon  the  body,  that  punish- 
ment is  corporal  punishment,  no  matter  what 
specific  form  it  takes.  Is  such  punishment  proper? 
Why  not?  There  is  no  government  without  law, — 
there  is  no  law  without  possible  punishment ;  there 


Management.  1 47 


is  no  punishment  without  pain  of  some  kind, — 
hence,  there  is  no  possibility  of  government  with- 
out a  possibility  of  some  pain  to  follow  it.  Can 
there  be  any  pain  but  pain  of  body  or  pain  of 
mind  ?  Why  is  the  body  so  peculiarly  sacred  that 
it  must  feel  no  pain  in  punishment?  It  is  not 
strange  that  people  are  sensitive  respecting  corporal 
punishment,  for  it  has  been  so  terribly  abused  ;  but 
we  are  wholly  unable  to  see  why  it  is  not  a  per- 
fectly proper  mode  of  punishment,  in  the  school  or 
in  the  family,  when  it  is  deserved,  when  it  is  given 
in  a  proper  measure  and  in  a  proper  way.  Dr. 
Rosenkranz  says :  ' '  The  view  which  sees  in  the  rod 
the  panacea  for  all  the  teacher's  embarrassments,  is 
censurable ;  but  equally  undesirable  is  the  false  sen- 
timentality which  assumes  that  the  dignity  of  hu- 
manity is  affected  by  a  blow  given  to  a  child." 

In  reality,  it  will  be  found  that  any  valid  argu- 
ments against  corporal  punishment  are  valid  against 
all  punishment.  To  punish  is  to  inflict  pain, — an 
operation  from  which  every  right-feeling  person 
shrinks, — but  an  operation  which  should  never  be 
abolished  until  the  offenses  cease  which  make  pun- 
ishment proper.  Often,  in  schools  where  corporal 
punishment  is  not  allowed,  something  worse  is  re- 
sorted to.  Proper  punishment  is  not  cruelty,  even 
though  it  make  the  body  sting, — taking  far-reaching 
consequences  into  account,  it  may  be  the  bitterest 
cruelty  to  withhold  it.  Nor  should  corporal  pun- 
ishment be  the  last  form  of  punishment.  Expul- 
sion may  properly  come  later.  If  a  rude,  turbulent 


148  Pedagogy. 


boy  can  be  kept  in  school  and  judiciously  whipped 
into  decent  behavior,  will  any  one  say  that  it  is  not 
better  for  him,  and  for  all  concerned,  than  it  would 
be  to  turn  him  into  the  street? 

Cautions. — But  corporal  punishment  should  never 
be  given  without  deliberation  and  careful  thought, 
followed  by  a  clear  conviction  that  it  is  the  best 
form  of  punishment  for  the  special  case  in  hand. 
It  should  never  be  inflicted  hastily,  never  in  anger, 
and  never  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  the  culprit  or 
any  witness  to  suppose  that  it  is  not  painful  to  the 
one  who  gives  it,  as  well  as  to  the  one  who  re- 
ceives it.  Nor  should  it  be  made  a  small  affair, — 
let  not  the  body  of  the  child  be  assailed  for  any 
but  a  serious  cause,  and  then  let  the  infliction  be 
such  that  there  will  be  no  wish  to  have  it  repeated. 
If,  with  the  same  pupils,  a  teacher  finds  an  increas- 
ing necessity  for  corporal  punishment,  he  may  be 
perfectly  certain  that  there  is  something  the  matter 
with  himself;  if  he  can  not  cure  the  evil,  he  should 
seek  another  field  or  kind  of  labor.  It  need  not  be 
said  that  punishment,  even  severe  corporal  punish- 
ment, is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  deepest  love 
of  the  teacher  for  his  pupil ;  in  fact,  love  may 
prompt  the  infliction  of  punishment,  as  it  may 
prompt  any  thing  else  that  the  pupil  needs  for  his 
guidance  and  direction. 

We  have  now  considered  some  of  the  general 
questions  of  government ;  in  our  next  chapter,  we 
will  point  out  some  of  the  specific  things  necessary 
to  the  teacher  in  order  that  he  may  govern  well. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MANAGEMENT. Concluded. 

HE  MUST  BE  MASTER. — In  order  that  the  teacher 
may  govern  his  school  well,  he  must  be  master.  His 
will  must  be  law  in  his  own  domain ;  and  there 
must  be  no  doubt  about  it,  either  in  his  own  mind 
or  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils.  But,  while  this  is 
true,  there  need  be  no  unnecessary  exhibition  of 
authority;  least  of  all,  should  there  be  any  boasting 
or  braggadocio  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  All 
such  exhibitions  indicate  a  lack  of  confidence,  if  any 
thing,  and  pupils  are  likely  to  put  such  a  construc- 
tion upon  them.  Besides,  a  boast  from  the  teacher 
appears  to  his  pupils  like  daring  them  to  transgress, 
and  a  challenge  is  a  great  temptation  to  boys  of 
spirit.  In  nature,  the  strongest  forces  are  always 
quiet  forces ; — for  instance,  gravitation  or  the  power 
of  the  sun's  rays.  The  same  thing  is  true  among 
men :  the  men  who  are  obeyed  most  implicitly  are 
quiet  men.  Settled,  unquestioned  authority  can 
afford  to  be  calm  and  quiet, — and  calm  and  quiet 
are  necessary  to  the  most  successful  settling  of 
questions  of  authority. 

HE  SHOULD  GOVERN  AS  LITTLE  AS  MAY  BE. — 
While  there  should  be  no  question  of  the  teacher's 

(149) 


150  Pedagogy. 


right  and  power  to  govern,  he  should  never  exer- 
cise his  power  without  good  reason  for  it ;  nothing 
should  ever  be  done  simply  to  show  that  he  has 
authority.  Good  government  is  a  blessing  to  hu- 
manity;  but  the  less  show  of  government  the 
better  always,  provided  its  purpose  be  accom- 
plished. The  philosophy  of  the  last  statement  is 
very  simple :  we  have  seen  that  government  should 
be  not  an  end  in  itself, — it  is  the  means  to  an  end; 
viz.,  the  good  of  the  governed.  It  will  always  be 
true  that,  if  an  end  be  secured,  the  less  expendi- 
ture of  means  the  better. 

ABOUT  MAKING  RULES. — Growing  out  of  the  prin- 
ciple just  given,  are  some  practical  suggestions  about 
making  rules  in  school.  The  old-fashioned  school- 
master appeared  before  his  school  with  a  long  and 
elaborate  set  of  rules,  carefully  drawn  up ;  these 
rules  seemed  to  be  intended  to  command  explicitly 
every  thing  that  should  be  done,  and  to  forbid  just 
as  explicitly  every  thing  that  should  not  be  done. 
They  were  often  read  to  the  school,  and  not  seldom 
they  were  printed  or  written,  and  posted  up  in  some 
conspicuous  place.  In  a  school  so  managed,  the 
sum  of  every  offense  consists  in  "  breaking  a  rule." 
Now,  a  teacher  has  a  perfect  right  to  proceed  in 
this  way;  and  certainly  it  is,  and  should  be,  a  grave 
offense  in  any  school  to  "  break  a  rule"  laid  down 
by  authority.  But  there  is  a  more  excellent  way. 
There  are  at  least  five  grave  objections  to  a  long 
code  of  rules  in  a  school. 

First.  — Make  your  list  as  long  as  you  ivill,  you  can 


Management.  151 


not  cover  all  cases  that  may  arise.  But,  if  you  have 
made  a  long  list,  and  have  taught  pupils  that  the 
breaking  of  a  rule  is  the  substance  of  each  offense, 
then  they  will  infer, — and  logically,  too, — that 
whatever  they  do,  they  have  committed  no  offense 
if  they  have  broken  no  rule. 

Second.  —  The  enunciation  of  the  rule  zvill  sometimes 
suggest  the  thing  forbidden,  to  the  child  }s  mind.  An 
old  story  is  told  of  a  careful  mother  who  was  about 
to  leave  her  large  family  of  children  for  a  little 
time.  Having  a  peck  of  beans  in  the  house,  it 
occurred  to  her  over-careful  soul  that  her  children 
might  be  tempted  to  put  them  in  their  noses  dur- 
ing her  absence.  So,  it  is  said  that  she  left  them 
with  the  following  emphatic  words,  enforced  by  an 
ominous  shake  of  her  finger:  "Now,  children, 
while  I  am  gone,  don't  you  go  and  put  any  of 
those  beans  in  your  noses.  Do  you  hear?"  Ac- 
cording to  the  story,  she  found  all  their  noses  full 
of  beans  on  her  return.  Whatever  may  be  the 
truth  of  this  story,  there  is  no  doubt  that  forbid- 
ding a  thing  may  often  suggest  the  doing  of  it. 

Third. — Human  nature  craves  zvhat  is  forbidden. 
The  old  story  of  the  disobedience  of  our  first 
mother  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  tendencies  of 
her  descendants  as  we  know  them  to-day. 

Fourth. — Pupils  will  violate  the  spirit  of  a  ride, 
while  they  keep  its  letter.  If  whispering  is  forbidden, 
writing  on  the  slate  may  follow ;  if  all  writing  is 
forbidden,  too,  perhaps  the  deaf  and  dumb  alphabet 
is  used,  etc.  It  would  seem  that,  if  the  teacher's 


152  Pedagogy. 


system  of  government  is  the  one  .that  we  are  criti- 
cising, he  must  make  his  indictment  cover  the 
specific  case,  or  no  penalty  ought  to  follow.  In 
this  respect,  government  in  the  school  should  differ 
from  government  in  the  state. 

Fifth. — Every  rule  ties  the  teachers  hands.  If  he 
has  made  a  law,  he  is  bound  to  see  it  enforced;  if 
he  has  threatened  a  fixed  penalty  for  an  offense,  he 
is  not  at  liberty  to  vary  it.  All  this  is  in  the  way 
of  his  dealing  freely  with  each  misdemeanor  as  the 
circumstances  or  the  peculiarities  of  the  case  may 
demand. 

Two  KINDS. — Shall  the  teacher  make  no  rules? 
We  shall  be  able  to  answer  this  question  better  if 
we  notice  that  offenses  in  school  may  be  broadly 
divided  into  two  grand  classes:  First,  there  are 
things  which  are  offenses  in  school  because  they 
are  wrong  in  themselves, — they  are  offenses  any- 
where ;  of  this  class  are  lying,  cruelty,  obscenity, 
etc.  Against  such  offenses  the  teacher  need  have 
no  rule,  except  the  general  one,  "Do  nothing 
wrong, — do  what  is  right." 

The  writer  was  once  called  to  take  charge  of  a  school 
where  his  predecessor,  it  seemed,  had  governed  in  the  way 
here  condemned.  Often,  when  a  boy  was  called  to  account 
for  some  bad  behavior,  he  would  put  in  the  plea,  "  I  did  not 
know  it  was  against  the  rule."  The  answer  was,  "  It  is  not 
against  the  rule ;  a  great  many  wicked  things  are  not  against 
our  rules, — we  have  no  rule  against  murder.  But  did  you 
know  it  was  wrong?"  As  this  question  was  put,  with  a  look 
square  in  the  offender's  eye,  he  often  frankly  confessed  his 
wrong-doing. 


Management.  1 5  3 


Second,  There  are  very  grave  school  offenses  that 
are  not  wrong  in  themselves,  but  are  made  offenses 
by  circumstances.  Such  are  whispering,  walking 
around  the  school-room,  etc.  Against  such  offen- 
ses, rules  must  sometimes  be  made ;  but  the  teacher 
should  make  as  few  as  may  be,  and  never  make  one 
till  it  is  needed. 

Illustration. — Many  years  ago,  the  writer  took  charge  of  a 
large  grammar-school  in  an  eastern  city.  Young  trees,  five 
or  six  inches  in  diameter,  were  growing  next  the  curbstone  of 
our  sidewalks.  He  had  been  in  his  position  for  some  months 
before  the  boys  molested  those  trees,  so  far  as  was  known,  nor 
had  it  occurred  to  him  that  they  would  do  so.  But,  boys  have 
a  way  of  doing  things  by  "  fits," — they  play  marbles,  fly  kites, 
etc.,  as  the  fit  takes  them,  Nor  are  they  very  unlike  older 
people  in  this  respect.  One  of  these  fits  took  the  boys  one 
day  while  the  teacher  was  gone  to  dinner ;  and,  on  his  return, 
he  found  all  those  young  shade-trees  as  full  of  boys  as  though 
boys  had  been  their  appropriate  crop.  Now,  in  general,  it  is 
a  very  proper  thing  for  a  boy  to  climb  a  tree.  But  climbing 
small  shade-trees  in  the  city  is  a  special  case ;  the  teacher 
concluded  an  emergency  was  upon  him,  and  something  must 
be  done.  As  soon  as  the  school  had  come  to  order,  he  passed 
through  the  several  rooms  and  laid  down  the  rule  that  there 
must  be  no  more  climbing  of  the  trees ;  and  as  the  boys  had 
learned  that  a  law  meant  what  it  said,  that  was  the  end  of  the 
trouble. 

THE  TEACHER  MUST  BE  TRUTHFUL  AND  JUST. — 
We  have  spoken  of  truthfulness  and  justice  as 
moral  qualities ;  we  now  say  that  they  are  essential 
to  good  government.  When  the  pupil  clearly  un- 
derstands that  the  teacher's  word,  in  the  form  of  a 
promise  or  a  threat,  has  been  passed  only  after 


154  Pedagogy. 


careful  consideration,  and  that  it  will  be  made  good 
at  all  hazards,  a  long  step  has  been  taken  in  good 
government.  And  the  same  is  true  when  the  pupil 
has  come  to  know  that  his  teacher  will  take  all 
pains  to  avoid  doing  him  an  injustice,  even  though 
he  may  have  occasion  to  treat  him  severely. 

HE  SHOULD  BE  DELIBERATE  AND  FIRM. — We  have 
said  that  the  teacher  should  not  pass  his  word  till 
he  has  considered  the  matter  carefully.  Thus,  a 
teacher  of  good  judgment  will  rarely  have  need  to 
take  a  back  step, — a  back  step  is  a  sad  thing  for  a 
governing  party.  If,  however,  he  finds  that,  with 
all  his  care,  he  has  made  a  mistake,  the  only  manly 
way,  the  only  safe  way,  is  to  acknowledge  his  error 
and  take  the  back  step.  But  if  he  has  to  do  this 
often,  his  government  will  surely  suffer. 

Teasing. — When  it  is  understood  that  the  teach- 
er's word,  once  deliberately  spoken,  is  final,  much 
has  been  done,  not  only  to  make  his  government 
strong,  but  to  make  it  easy  to  himself.  A  parent 
or  teacher  who  is  annoyed  by  the  "teasing"  of  a 
child  has  only  himself  to  blame  for  it.  If  the  child 
makes  a  request,  and  it  is  refused  hastily  and 
thoughtlessly,  he  is  very  likely  to  prefer  it  again 
pretty  soon,  perhaps  over  and  over.  Suppose  the 
answer,  pettishly  given  by-and-by,  should  be, 
"Yes,  yes;  I  suppose  I  shall  have  no  peace  till  I 
let  you  do  it."  That  child  has  learned  a  lesson  in 
teasing  that  will  return  to  torment  his  ruler  more 
than  once.  Nor  should  wheedling  and  coaxing  be 
encouraged,  any  more  than  teasing. 


Management.  155 


The  teacher  may  save  himself  many  mistakes 
and  annoyances,  if  he  will  plan  beforehand  for  per- 
plexities and  emergencies  that  are  likely  to  arise. 
He  should  defer  a  decision  respecting  any  thing  un- 
expected that  arises,  if  it  can  be  done  ;  if  a  deci- 
sion must  be  made  at  once,  he  can  only  use  his 
best  judgment,  and  run  the  risk  of  a  mistake. 

THE  TEACHER  SHOULD  SEEK  TO  AVOID  ISSUES 
WITH  PUPILS  OR  PARENTS. — A  matter  has  reached 
an  "issue"  when  two  parties  have  been  brought 
into  direct  opposition  to  each  other,  and  one  or  the 
other  must  yield. 

It  will  sometimes  happen  that  an  issue  can  not  be 
avoided  reasonably  or  honorably ;  in  such  a  case, 
the  teacher  should  take  care  that  he  has  right  on 
his  side,  and  then  meet  the  issue  squarely,  deter- 
mined to  win.  But  heedless,  headstrong  teachers 
quite  often  provoke  issues  in  which  they  are  sure 
to  be  beaten ;  or,  if  they  win,  the  victory  is  too 
costly. 

THE  TEACHER  SHOULD  GOVERN  HIMSELF. — This 
includes  nearly  all  that  has  been  said,  or  that  need 
be  said,  in  respect  to  the  essentials  of  a  teacher's 
government.  No  one  is  fit  to  govern  others  till  he 
can  govern  himself, — nor  is  there  any  other  victory 
of  government  so  hard  to  win.  The  proverb  says, 
"He  that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the 
mighty,  and  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that 
taketh  a  city."  Probably  the  word  "better"  is 
used  in  the  sense  of  stronger,  as  we  sometimes 
hear  it  used  in  common  talk, — and,  in  this  iense, 


156  Pedagogy. 


the  proverb  is  true.  History  tells  of  many  men 
who  were  able  to  take  cities,  but  were  unable  to 
rule  their  own  spirits, — Alexander  is  a  notable  ex- 
ample. Of  course,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  one 
has  a  spirit  to  rule  if  it  is  to  require  strength  to 
rule  it.  Washington  is  an  illustrious  example  of  a 
man  who  gained  great  power  over  others  because 
he  first  gained  power  over  his  own  spirit,  and  there 
is  abundant  evidence  that  his  spirit  was  one  that  it 
required  power  to  control. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  self-control  means 
an  icy,  impassive  demeanor,  nor  slow  and  measured 
speech,  on  all  occasions ;  self-control  is  not  neces- 
sarily self-repression.  True  self-control  implies  the 
power  to  do  what  needs  to  be  done;  it  implies 
•the  power  to  rouse  and  electrify,  as  well  as  the 
power  to  calm  or  to  awe.  And  this  power  is  pe- 
culiar to  no  age  or  sex;  it  is  often  lacking  in  the 
stalwart,  bearded  man ;  and  it  is  often  present  in 
the  slender  girl  not  yet  out  of  her  ' 'teens."  It  is 
largely  a  gift  of  nature ;  but,  like  all  of  nature's 
gifts,  it  may  be  improved  by  cultivation. 

TWELVE  PRINCIPLES. — We  will  close  this  chapter 
with  a  concise  statement  of  a  few  principles  of  good 
management : 

First. — No  school  can  be  well  taught  if  it  is  not 
well  managed. 

Second. — Never  make  any  thing  pertaining  to 
management  an  end  in  itself. 

Third. — No  work  is  ever  likely  to  be  well  done 
if  it  is  not  well  planned. 


Management.  1 5  7 


Fourth. — A  teacher's  example  weighs  more  than 
his  words. 

Fifth. — Make  no  law,  grant  or  refuse  no  request, 
give  no  reproof,  till  you  have  thought  about  the  matter. 

Sixth. — When  you  have  once  taken  your  posi- 
tion, stick  to  it. 

Seventh. — If,  however,  you  see  that  you  have 
made  a  mistake,  confess  and  rectify  your  mistake 
like  a  man. 

Eighth. — One  who  is  kept  busy  about  right 
things  has  no  time  for  mischief. 

Ninth. — Be  more  anxious  to  prevent  wrong-doing 
than  to  punish  it. 

Tenth. — Often  make  a  friend  of  a  wayward  pupil 
by  getting  him  to  do  you  a  service. 

Eleventh. — Seek  always  the  good  of  your  pupils; 
let  good  to  yourself  be  incidental. 

Twelfth. — NEVER  PUNISH  IN  ANGER. 


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(158) 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

LESSONS. 

LESSONS  constitute  the  peculiar  and  special  work 
of  the  school ;  hence,  we  should  give  attention  to 
this  subject.  What  do  we  mean  by  lessons?  How 
should  they  be  assigned  ?  How  learned  ?  How  re- 
cited ?  These  are  some  of  the  questions  to  be  con- 
sidered. 

Recitations. — The  noun  "recitation"  comes  from 
the  verb  to  recite.  This  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
citare,  to  say,  to  call,  or  to  summon,  joined  with 
the  prefix  re,  meaning  again.  Literally,  then,  a 
recitation  consists  in  saying  over  what  has  been 
learned,  as  a  poem,  a  passage  of  Scripture,  or  a 
lesson.  This  is  the  idea  expressed  by  the  child 
when  he  asks  his  fellow,  ''Can  you  say  your  les- 
son?" Now,  the  school  exercises  which  we  call 
recitations  ought  to  include  much  more  than  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  literal  meaning  of  the  verb,  to 
recite.  It  is  somewhat  unfortunate  that  we  have  no 
more  comprehensive  word  than  the  term  recitation, 
to  apply  to  our  school  exercises.  But,  as  this  is 
the  term  used  by  common  consent,  let  us  inquire 
what  special  exercises  a  so-called  recitation  may 

properly  include. 

(159) 


1 60  Pedagogy. 

TESTING. — We  mean,  by  testing,  the  ascertaining 
of  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  the  lesson  assigned  for 
that  particular  hour ;  this  should  be  the  first  and 
most  important  part  of  the  recitation.  The  lesson 
has  been  carefully  assigned  at  some  previous  time, 
to  be  learned  from  a  book  or  from  some  other 
available  source.  Now,  the  questions  are:  Has  the 
pupil  tried  faithfully  to  do  his  work  ?  Has  he  suc- 
ceeded ?  In  what  degree,  or  in  what  respect,  has 
he  failed  ?  His  acquisition  of  the  lesson  should 
have  been  two-fold, — that  is,  he  should  have  mas- 
tered the  thought  of  the  lesson,  and  he  should  be 
prepared  to  state  that  thought  in  appropriate  lan- 
guage. He  may  have  failed  in  either  of  these  par- 
ticulars. Skillful  questioning  may  show  that  the 
thought  of  the  lesson  has  found  a  lodgment  in  his 
mind  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  and  fullness, 
but  that  he  is  utterly  unable,  without  aid,  to  give 
that  thought  any  appropriate  dress  in  language. 
Or  he  may  have  committed  to  memory  excellent 
language  from  the  book,  and  be  utterly  ignorant  as 
to  its  meaning.  In  either  case,  there  is  a  call  for 
inquiry  and  action  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  If 
the  failure  is  from  no  fault  of  the  pupil,  he  needs 
help.  If  it  is  a  result  of  his  own  indolence  or  in- 
attention, he  needs  help  of  another  kind. 

In  no  case  should  the  matter  be  passed  over 
carelessly,  nor  should  a  movement  be  made  towards 
any  thing  else  till  the  evil  is  corrected.  If  the  pupil 
has  been  unfaithful,  reproof  or  punishment  should 
follow ;  if  a  large  part  of  the  class  have  been  un- 


Lessons.  1 6 1 

faithful,  no  attempt  at  progress  in  any  other  direc- 
tion should  be  made ;  but  after  reproof  or  punish- 
ment the  lesson  should  be  assigned  again,  probably 
with  some  addition,  and  the  class  should  be  dis- 
missed. For  this  reason,  the  test  should  come 
early  in  the  recitation ;  generally,  the  first  thing, 
that  it  may  be  known  whether  any  thing  else  is  to 
be  attempted.  If  the  testing  is  fairly  satisfactory, 
then  other  exercises  should  follow  or  accompany  it. 

INSTRUCTION. — Hearing  lessons  recited  is  by  no 
means  all  of  the  teacher's  business ;  he  should 
teach,  instruct,  give  additional  information,  either 
by  explaining  what  the  pupil  has  already  studied, 
or  by  giving  new  and  additional  matter  from  inde- 
pendent sources. 

And  he  should  go  before  his  class,  every  day, 
fully  prepared  to  give  instruction  in  one  or  both  of 
these  ways.  How  much  light  he  may  throw  upon 
the  abstract  statements  of  the  text-book,  by  skillful 
illustrations  drawn  from  the  every-day  life  in  which 
all  are  so  intensely  interested !  How  the  showing 
of  pictures  of  men,  of  buildings,  of  landscapes, 
may  give  a  vividness  to  the  lesson  in  reading  or 
history  or  geography !  In  short,  there  is  no  end 
to  what  the  teacher  can  do,  by  imparting  additional 
information,  to  give  clearness  and  fullness  of 
thought,  to  awaken  interest,  to  stimulate  memory, 
and  to  excite  a  strong  desire  to  know  yet  more 
upon  the  subject  in  hand.  But,  in  order  that  these 
desirable  results  may  follow,  the  teacher  must 
traverse  wide  fields  for  his  material,  must  carefully 

Fed.— 14. 


1 62  Pedagogy. 


sift  and  prepare  it,  must  present  it  in  a  skillful  way, 
and  must  be  sure  to  call  for  it  again. 

The  very  name  /<?.r/-book  suggests  the  use  that  should  be 
made  of  it.  It  should  be  a  book  of  texts, — short,  clear  state- 
ments of  facts  or  principles.  It  is  the  teacher's  business  to 
make  these  texts  comprehended  by  the  pupils,  and  to  make 
them  the  basis,  or  the  nucleus,  of  a  much  larger  stock  of 
information  than  any  text-book  can  properly  furnish. 

REVIEWING. — Generally,  a  recitation  is  incomplete 
that  does  not  include  considerable  reviewing.  Re- 
viewing is  testing ;  but  it  is  testing  in  respect  to 
former  lessons ;  while  testing,  as  we  have  appropri- 
ated the  word,  is  confined  to  the  lesson  of  the  day. 
Constant  repetition,  which  is  review,  is  necessary  in 
order  to  fix  a  thing  firmly  in  the  memory.  But, 
further,  a  matter  brought  up  in  review  may  take  on 
new  meaning,  from  the  fact  that  it  may  be  seen  in 
new  relations  because  of  increased  knowledge. 

It  should  be  understood  that  a  review  of  the  last 
lesson  is  always  in  order ;  also,  that  when  any  thing 
in  the  present  lesson  is  met  that  relates  to  some- 
thing learned  in  any  former  lesson,  a  review  of  the 
former  lesson  in  regard  to  the  point  in  question  is 
to  be  expected.  Pupils  with  whom  a  teacher  con- 
stantly deals  in  this  way  will  form  the  habit  of 
looking  back,  as  they  prepare  their  lessons,  to  join 
the  knowledge  they  are  now  gaining  with  what  has 
gone  before.  Besides  the  incidental  reviewing  here 
indicated,  of  course  room  remains  for  frequent 
thorough  reviews.  There  is  very  little  danger  that 
there  will  be  too  much  reviewing. 


Lessons.  1 63 

DRILLING. — We  borrow  this  term  from  the  sol- 
dier's practice;  he  goes  through  daily  evolutions, 
not  because  he  does  not  know  the  movements,  but 
in  order  to  make  them  automatic.  The  pupil 
should  do  similar  work  for  a  similar  purpose.  The 
object  of  a  review  is  to  ascertain  if  knowledge  pre- 
viously gained  has  been  retained ;  the  object  of  a 
drill  is  to  make  knowledge  that  is  retained  habit- 
ual,— to  give  it  an  automatic  or  mechanical  form. 
In  every  study,  some  things  need  to  be  put  in  this 
form, — elementary  sounds,  slides,  and  inflections  in 
reading ;  definitions,  tables,  and  formulas  in  math- 
ematics ;  dates  in  history ;  rules  in  grammar,  etc. 

ASSIGNING  NEXT  LESSON. — At  some  time  during 
the  hour  of  recitation,  ample  time  should  be  taken 
for  the  assigning  of  the  next  lesson,  which,  we 
shall  show,  is  not  a  matter  that  can  safely  be 
treated  so  hurriedly  and  carelessly  as  many  seem  to 
suppose.  Generally,  the  best  time  to  do  this  is  at 
the  close  of  the  lesson  ;  but,  if  for  any  reason,  it  is 
likely  to  be  treated  slightingly  if  deferred  till  that 
time,  it  may  well  claim  a  place  immediately  after 
testing. 

There  is  no  absolute  necessity  that  all  of  these 
five  things,  which,  it  is  claimed,  belong  legitimately 
to  what  is  called  a  recitation,  should  come  in  every 
one.  Drilling  may  oftenest  be  omitted ;  but  testing 
and  assigning  the  next  lesson,  rarely  or  never. 
Nor  is  their  order  very  essential,  except  to  the 
extent  already  indicated. 

A    skillful    teacher   will    often    contrive    to    have 


1 64  Pedagogy. 


several  of  these  exercises  going  on  at  the  same 
time.  When  he  is  instructing  or  assigning  a  les- 
son, he  needs  the  attention  of  all  his  class ;  but,  by 
the  help  of  the  blackboard  or  writing  tablet,  he 
may  have  some  pupils  reviewing,  some  drilling,  and 
some  undergoing  the  testing  process,  at  the  same 
time. 

Assigning  Lessons. — You  may  observe  a  care- 
less teacher  sitting  in  some  lounging  or  easy  atti- 
tude when  the  time  for  closing  the  recitation 
arrives;  glancing  hurriedly  forward  in  his  text- 
book, he  says:  "Well,  you  may  take  six  pages 
next  time; — no,  perhaps  five  is  enough, — class  is 
dismissed."  Such  actions  and  words  betray  woful 
ignorance  of  his  business  or  inexcusable  laziness. 
The  fixing  of  the  next  lesson  is  a  matter  too  im- 
portant to  be  tossed  off  in  that  way. 

LENGTH. — It  is  very  important  that  the  lesson 
should  not  be  unreasonably  long;  evil  is  sure  to 
follow,  but  all  pupils  will  not  be  injured  in  the 
same  way.  There  is  one  evil,  however,  that  is 
almost  certain  to  follow  when  lessons  of  improper 
length  are  given  repeatedly, — that  is,  the  formation 
of  bad  habits  of  studying.  The  pupils  in  almost 
any  class  of  moderate  number  may  be  roughly  di- 
vided into  three  groups:  ist,  Those  who  are  bright 
and  industrious ;  2d,  Those  who  are  plodding,  faith- 
ful, and  ordinary  in  ability ;  3d,  Those  who  are 
stupid,  lazy,  or  tricky. 

If  too  long  a  lesson  is  set  before  the  first  group, 
they  will  learn  it,  if  such  a  thing  be  possible,  but 


Lessons.  165 

mind  or  body,  or  both,  will  scarcely  escape  injury. 
The  second  group  will  plod  away  and  do  their 
best ;  but  the  result  will  be  mere  surface-work,  or  a 
nebulous  understanding  of  the  matter.  Continued 
efforts  of  this  sort  will  result  in  the  formation  of 
the  worst  possible  mental  habits  for  the  student. 
The  third  group,  discouraged  or  disgusted,  will 
probably  seek  some  dishonest  way  of  seeming  to 
have  clone  the  work,  or  they  will  flatly  give  up 
with  little  or  no  effort,  consoling  themselves  with 
the  saying,  "One  might  as  well  die  for  an  old 
sheep  as  a  lamb."  This  is  the  pet  proverb  of  that 
class  of  people. 

If  the  lesson  is  too  short,  each  of  these  groups 
will  receive  special  injury.  The  first  will  do  the 
work  required,  but  the  spare  time  remaining  will  be 
a  temptation  to  evil.  The  second, — generally  by 
far  the  most  numerous, — will  probably  accomplish 
the  task,  but  will  take  twice  the  necessary  time, 
thus  aggravating  their  natural  habit  of  slowness. 
The  third,  judging  that  the  task  is  easy,  will  prob- 
ably procrastinate  until  too  little  time  remains  even 
for  an  easy  task;  here  their  pet  proverb  comes  into 
play  again,  and  they  will  be  likely  to  do  nothing. 

Hence,  the  length  of  the  lesson  should  be  just 
right, — but  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine  what 
is  just  right.  We  have  divided  our  class  into  three 
groups,  but  really  no  two  pupils  have  exactly  the 
same  ability  to  master  a  lesson.  So,  in  determining 
the  length  of  the  lesson,  the  teacher  must  make  an 
average  of  the  ability  of  his  class;  it  is  well,  then, 


1 66  Pedagogy. 

to  assign  the  lesson  for  those  who  are  a  little  above 
this  average.  In  the  writer's  experience,  he  has 
found  that  moderately  difficult  lessons  are  better 
learned,  in  general,  than  very  easy  ones. 

DEFINITENESS. — Exactly  what  will  be  required  in 
the  lesson  should  be  made  so  plain  that  no  pupil 
can  say,  <(I  did  not  know  what  was  wanted"  with- 
out criminating  himself.  In  every  lesson  assigned 
from  a  book,  some  things  are  more  important  than 
others ;  these  demand  special  attention,  and  they 
should  be  clearly  designated.  The  teacher  may  de- 
sire to  have  some  rule,  principle,  formula,  or  felic- 
itous statement  reproduced  verbatim;  he  should 
indicate  such  passages^  and  let  the  pupils  know 
clearly  what  he  wants.  He  should  tell  what  parts 
he  wishes  mastered  only  in  a  general  way,  without 
any  special  attempt  at  precision.  He  may  deem 
some  statements  unimportant  or  erroneous;  then 
he  should  let  the  pupils  know  that  these  may  be 
omitted.  He  may  desire  to  have  something  added 
to  what  the  book  gives,  either  from  his  own  instruc- 
tions or  from  some  book  of  reference ;  then  he 
should  tell  the  pupils  exactly  what  he  wants  and 
where  it  may  be  found. 

THE  TEACHER'S  PROBLEM. — We  shall  probably 
agree  that  the  teacher's  problem  in  assigning  a  les- 
son correctly  is  not  a  very  easy  one.  Let  us  see 
what  elements  enter  into  it.  First,  He  must  consider 
the  inherent  difficulties  of  the  subject-matter ;  and, 
in  weighing  its  difficulties,  he  must  look  from  the 
learner's  stand-point,  not  his  own.  Let  him  recall 


Lessons.  167 

the  lesson,  not  as  it  appears  to  him  now,  but  as  it 
appeared  at  the  first  encounter.  It  is  true  that 
things  the  more  difficult,  having  once  been  mas- 
tered, afterwards  appear  easier  than  other  less  diffi- 
cult things  with  which  we  never  had  so  severe  a 
battle.  Second,  He  must  weigh  the  ability  of  the 
class,  considering  each  individually,  and  then  make 
an  average.  Third  *  He  must  take  into  account  the 
time  allowed  the  pupils  for  preparation,  and  the 
time  allowed  the  class  for  recitation.  Last,  Various 
circumstances  ought  to  modify  the  length  of  the 
lesson;  not  the  same  task  should  be  set  in  warm, 
debilitating  weather,  as  in  weather  that  is  clear  and 
bracing,  nor  in  a  time  of  general  ill-health  as  in  a 
time  when  health  is  good.  The  time  in  the  term, 
the  pressure  of  home  duties  and  other  matters,  may 
well  modify  the  teacher's  demands  on  his  pupils. 
A  problem  of  so  much  importance  and  difficulty 
can  not  be  well  solved  in  the  odd  moments  at  school, 
nor  amid  the  distractions  of  the  school-room.  The 
teacher  should  make  it  a  matter  of  careful  study  in 
the  quiet  and  solitude  of  his  own  room.  He 
should  give  it  ample  time,  and  give  all  its  elements 
due  weight  and  attention ;  and  he  should  go  to  his 
school  prepared  to  assign  each  lesson  properly.  If 
he  shall  find  something  that  he  had  not  expected, — 
for  instance,  that  the  lesson  for  the  day  is  not  well 
learned, — he  may  modify  the  lesson  he  intended  to 
give. 


SCHEME     XI. 
NOTE. — Connect  this  Scheme  with  Scheme  X. 


3.  Hearing  a  Lesson.  - 


4.  Oral  Instruction, 
(a)  Meaning. 


i.   Promptness  of  the  .  .  . 


2.   Rigidness. 


3.  Pupil  "on  his  own  feet/ 


1.  Teacher. 

2.  Pupils. 

1.  Literally. 

2.  Figuratively. 


4.  Questioning. 


1.  Not  Attempt  too  much  at  Once. 

2.  Well  Mapped  Out. 

3.  Reach  the  Points  Intended. 

4.  See  that  they  are  Understood. 
.  5.  Call  again  for  what  is  Given. 


-168) 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

LESSONS.  — Concluded. 

Hearing  Lessons. — Having  assigned  a  reasona- 
ble lesson,  with  the  clearness  and  precision  that  we 
have  indicated,  the  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  the 
lesson  is  properly  recited  when  the  time  for  recita- 
tion comes. 

PROMPTNESS. — The  class  should  be  called  at  the 
exact  moment  indicated  by  the  programme.  When 
they  are  assembled,  no  time  should  be  lost  in  call- 
ing the  roll,  in  adjusting  books,  in  inquiries  as  to 
the  limits  of  the  lesson,  etc., — nor  should  any 
member  of  the  class  be  asked  if  he  is  prepared. 
If,  for  any  good  reason,  any  pupil  has  failed  to  pre- 
pare his  lesson,  let  him  rise  at  once,  give  his 
reason,  and  ask  to  be  excused ;  otherwise,  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  all  are  ready,  and  all  should  feel 
responsible  for  the  lesson  as  it  was  assigned. 

In  any  class,  or  school,  that  does  not  contain  more  than 
forty  members,  there  is  no  need  for  a  roll-call.  Let  each 
pupil  have  his  particular  place,  and  a  glance  ought  to  enable 
the  teacher  to  know  if  he  is  in  his  place. 

Let  the  recitation  begin  at  once,  with  a  brisk 
movement,  and  let  it  continue  briskly  till  the  end  is 

Fed.— 15.  (169) 


1 70  Pedagogy. 


reached  or  the  time  has  expired.  What  was  said 
about  the  habit  of  rapidity  applies  here  in  full 
force.  At  the  end,  let  the  class  be  dismissed  as 
promptly  as  it  was  called. 

RIGIDNESS. — When  a  lesson,  reasonable  in  kind 
and  length,  has  been  assigned  in  the  way  we  have 
indicated,  the  teacher  should  be  satisfied  with  noth- 
ing less  than  complete  work.  One  of  the  most 
common,  and  most  serious,  faults  of  our  teachers  is 
that  they  accept  such  miserably  poor  work, — they 
often  commend  what  should  be  heartily  condemned. 
If  twenty  places  have  been  assigned  for  a  lesson  in 
geography,  the  recitation  of  nineteen  only  is  not 
good, — nor  of  twenty  even,  if  the  answer  comes 
hesitatingly,  slowly,  and  uncertainly.  Nor,  if  ten 
examples  in  arithmetic  constitute  the  lesson,  should 
the  work  be  pronounced  well  done  when  only  nine 
are  solved,  nor  when  the  processes  are  slovenly  or 
some  of  the  results  inaccurate.  The  immediate 
evils  in  such  a  case  are  not  the  most  serious;  they 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  habit  formed  of 
meeting  responsibilities  imperfectly,  or  of  being 
satisfied  with  inaccurate  work. 

THE  PUPIL  ON  His  FEET. — In  reciting,  the  pupil 
should  stand  on  his  own  feet,  both  literally  and  fig- 
uratively. The  following  are  some  of  the  reasons 
why  a  pupil  should  stand  to  recite :  First,  He  can 
be  heard  better ;  especially  is  this  true  if  the  class 
is  large.  Second,  He  feels  a  greater  sense  of 
responsibility  standing;  when  he  is  on  his  feet 
he  becomes  conspicuous, — the  onus  of  the  work  is 


Lessons.  1 7  r 

thrown  entirely  upon  him.  He  is  likely  to  make 
more  careful  statements,  and  to  make  them  with 
more  deliberation.  Nor  is  this  a  matter  confined  to 
pupils  in  a  class:,  it  accords  with  a  general  prin- 
ciple. A  man  will  often  shout  out  from  a  crowded 
audience  what  he  would  not  stand  forth  and  say  de- 
liberately before  the  same  people.  If  the  pupil 
can  not  answer  a  question,  never  suffer  him  to  say 
carelessly,  "  I'd'n'  know,"  from  his  seat.  Make 
him  stand,  and  say  distinctly,  "I  do  not  know." 
The  chances  are  that  he  will  be  more  likely  to 
know  next  time.  A  class  of  small  children  may 
well  stand  during  a  whole  recitation.  The  time 
should  be  brief,  as  we  have  said,  and  the  standing 
will  be  a  relief  to  them.  If  the  class  is  large,  or 
difficult,  it  is  often  best  for  the  teacher  to  stand ;  in 
such  a  case,  he  can  work  more  effectively  on  his 
feet.  Both  teacher  and  pupils  should  stand  erect, 
on  both  feet,  without  leaning  on  any  person  or 
thing. 

Figuratively,  the  pupil  should  be  on  his  own 
feet, — that  is,  he  should  recite  without  aid  from 
any  source  whatever.  We  are  not  saying  merely 
that  he  should  not  look  in  his  book,  nor  be 
prompted  by  his  fellows ;  this  is  so  obvious  that  we 
need  not  mention  it.  Not  unfrequently  teachers 
themselves  guide  shrewd  pupils  entirely  through 
their  recitations  without  a  suspicion  that  they  are 
doing  so.  This  may  be  done  by  the  words  that 
they  supply  from  time  to  time ;  but  it  may  be  done 
without  speaking  a  word.  The  teacher's  nods  or 


172  Pedagogy. 


smiles  or  frowns  are  often  a  complete  index  to  the 
character  of  the  pupil's  work;  and  it  is  a  curious 
study  to  see  a  shrewd,  lazy  pupil  watch  such  a 
teacher's  face,  while  he  feels  his  way  through  the 
recitation  of  a  subject  that  he  does  not  half  under- 
stand. When  the  teacher  has  given  the  pupil  his 
topic,  or  asked  the  question  to  be  answered,  his 
face  should  be  as  unmoved  as  that  of  the  Sphinx 
till  the  pupil  has  completed  his  work.  An  excep- 
tion may  be  made,  of  course,  when  the  pupils  are 
little  children. 

Nor  should  other  members  of  the  class  make 
demonstrations  to  show  whether  the  one  who  is  re- 
citing is  going  right  or  wrong.  No  raising  of 
hands  should  be  allowed  till  the  pupil  has  finished 
his  recitation.  The  pupil  who  raises  his  hand  may 
be  wrong  in  thinking  that  a  mistake  has  been  made ; 
in  any  case,  mischief  only  can  result.  If  the  one 
reciting  is  timid,  the  raising  of  a  classmate's  hand, 
whether  there  be  reason  for  it  or  not,  is  likely  to 
confuse  him ;  if  he  is  shrewd  and  tricky,  the  raising 
of  a  hand  the  moment  he  makes  a  mistake  may 
enable  him  to  recover  himself  when  he  ought  to 
fail.  Often,  he  knows  that  one  of  two  answers  is 
correct,  but  he  is  not  sure  which  is  right.  If  rais- 
ing hands  be  allowed,  you  will  see  him  try  one  of 
the  answers  cautiously,  looking  slyly  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye ;  on  the  first  appearance  of  a 
hand  rising,  he  changes  to  the  other  answer  in  the 
most  prompt  and  confident  way,  and  comes  ofT 
victorious. 


Lessons.  173 

When  a  pupil's  recitation  is  finished,  those  who 
have  criticisms  may  show  hands, — only  with  a  class 
of  small  children  should  it  be  permitted  sooner. 
When  an  ill-prepared  pupil  is  floundering  in  his 
work,  the  teacher  is  often  prompted  to  help  him, 
from  sympathy  or  mistaken  kindness.  But  true 
and  wise  kindness  will  let  him  struggle  on,  or  fail 
even  ;  only  in  this  way  can  he  be  taught  to  depend 
upon  himself.  Sometimes,  however,  the  teacher's 
laziness  or  impatience  prompts  him  to  recite  for  his 
pupil ;  it  is  quicker  and  easier  for  the  teacher  to 
make  the  recitation  than  to  wait  for  the  pupil  to  do 
it. 

QUESTIONING. — This  is  a  very  important  part  of 
the  teacher's  work ;  skill  here  is  a  very  valuable 
kind  of  skill.  If  the  text-book  has  questions 
printed  in  it,  it  is  rarely  best  to  use  them ;  they 
may  aid  the  pupil  in  preparing  his  lesson,  but  in 
recitation  other  questions  should  generally  be  put. 
When  the  question  in  the  book  is  used,  let  it  be 
changed  in  form ;  if,  for  instance,  the  question  is, 
4 'What  cape  at  the  southern  extremity  of  South 
America?"  put  it  in  this  way:  "Where  is  Cape 
Horn?"  Leading  questions  should  not  be  asked, — 
that  is,  questions  which  by  their  form  indicate  what 
answer  is  expected.  The  lesson  must  be  so  con- 
ducted that  the  pupil  shall  do  his  own  thinking. 

In  a  good  recitation,  the  pupil  does  much  the 
larger  part  of  the  talking.  He  should  be  required 
to  use  good  language  in  his  answers  ;  but  it  should 
generally  be  other  language  than  that  of  the  book. 


174  Pedagogy. 


The  contrary  course  is  likely  to  result  in  "  parrot " 
recitation,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  If  the  pupil 
makes  a  mistake  in  his  language,  it  is  generally 
best  to  let  him  finish  his  statement  before  calling  on 
him  to  correct  his  language ;  but  the  teacher  must 
be  very  careful  not  to  let  the  mistake  pass  uncor- 
rected.  If,  however,  the  mistake  is  one  that  the 
same  pupil  makes  habitually,  he  should  be  stopped 
instantly,  on  every  occasion,  until  the  habit  is 
broken  up. 

Questions  calling  for  a  general  answer  from  all 
the  class  must  be  used  sparingly  and  cautiously. 
When  a  class  is  timid  or  dull,  such  questions  may 
be  of  use, — so,  also,  when  "drilling"  is  the  pur- 
pose. But  for  the  purpose  of  "testing,"  they  are 
wholly  untrustworthy ;  the  lazy  pupil  who  knows 
nothing  of  the  lesson  adds  his  voice  to  the  general 
sound,  and  so  covers  up  his  delinquency.  But, 
even  when  he  has  no  intention  to  deceive,  his  un- 
prepared condition  may  be  hidden  from  his  own 
mind  till  he  is  called  on  to  make  a  full  statement 
individually. 

Order. — The  order  in  which  the  questions  shall 
be  given  to  the  class  is  a  very  important  matter. 
If  they  are  passed  around  the  class  in  the  same  in- 
variable order,  it  will  happen,  sometimes,  that 
shrewd  and  lazy  pupils  will  prepare  to  answer  no 
questions  but  those  that  will  fall  to  their  "turn." 
But  the  most  honest  pupil  is  likely  to  let  his  atten- 
tion wander  when  he  has  answered  his  question,  and 
knows  that  some  time  will  elapse  before  he  will 


Lessons.  175 

again  be  called  on.  When  this  order  is  followeds 
th'e  person  whose  turn  it  is  to  answer  will  usuall) 
be  the  only  one  who  is  reciting  at  the  moment, 
whereas  all  the  class  should  be  reciting,  —  one 
orally,  the  others  mentally.  It  is  often  well  to  stop 
the  pupil  who  is  talking,  in  the  midst  of  a  sen- 
tence, and  require  some  other  pupil  to  begin  ex- 
actly where  the  first  left  off.  If  it  is  understood  that 
this  is  likely  to  be  done  at  any  moment,  probably 
all  the  class  will  follow  the  recitation  closely. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  routine  in  questioning  that 
we  have  criticised,  it  is  well  for  the  teacher  to  pro- 
pound his  question,  and  then  ask  at  random  for 
some  one  to  answer  it.  But  he  must  be  very  care- 
ful, when  he  ''skips  around"  his  class  in  this  way, 
that  he  does  not  neglect  any  of  the  members.  He 
will  be  tempted  to  call  on  the  bright  and  ready 
pupils  most  frequently,  but  he  must  remember  that 
the  other  pupils  need  most  the  discipline  that  wil) 
be  gained  by  reciting. 

Some  teachers  are  in  the  habit  of  inviting  the  pupils  who 
can  answer  a  question  to  indicate  that  fact  by  raising  their 
hands.  This  is  very  well  when  the  teacher  is  developing  a 
subject;  but,  when  the  class  are  reciting  a  lesson  on  which 
they  are  supposed  to  be  prepared,  it  is  wholly  wrong.  It 
should  be  understood  that  the  teacher  expects  every  one  to 
be  prepared. 

On  reviews  or  examinations,  it  is  well  to  assign 
the  questions  or  topics  in  some  way  by  lot.  The 
teacher  who  has  been  with  his  class  a  term,  gener- 
ally knows  whether  any  given  pupil  can  answer  any 


176  Pedagogy. 


given  question ;  so  it  follows  that,  if  he  distribute 
the  questions  as  he  chooses,  he  will  either  put  them 
to  such  pupils  as  he  knows  to  be  able  to  answer 
them,  or  he  must  deliberately  lead  some  one  to 
fail  by  giving  him  a  question  that  he  knows  he  can 
not  answer.  But,  if  he  distribute  the  questions  by 
lot,  he  relieves  himself  of  all  responsibility,  and  can 
not  be  charged  with  unfairness,  whatever  may  be 
the  result.  If  pupils  know  that  they  will  be  exam- 
ined in  this  way,  they  are  more  likely  to  be  careful 
to  prepare  on  all  the  questions  or  topics  pertaining 
to  the  subject  in  hand. 

Oral  Instruction. — By  this  we  do  not  mean  the 
explanations  and  additional  information  already 
spoken  of,  but  rather  something  entirely  apart  from 
the  text-book, — the  developing  before  the  class,  or 
the  school,  of  a  subject  not  yet  studied  by  the 
pupils  in  any  book.  Considerable  work  of  this 
kind  should  be  done  in  every  school ;  this  will  be 
apparent,  if  we  think  for  a  moment  how  many 
topics  there  are  on  which  pupils  ought  to  be  in- 
structed, but  which  are  not  treated  of  directly  in 
any  of  their  set  lessons.  A  few  suggestions  will 
be  given  in  respect  to  work  of  this  sort. 

NOT  Too  MUCH  MATTER. — Most  teachers  who 
attempt  oral  lessons  undertake  to  give  too  much  at 
a  time.  They  are  likely  to  forget  that  minds,  es- 
pecially of  children,  can  not  grasp  and  master  a 
great  deal  of  new  matter  at  once.  A  teacher  is  es- 
pecially liable  to  err  in  this  way  when  he  presents  a 
subject  with  which  he  is  very  familiar.  He  forgets 


Lessons.  i  7  7 

that  what  seems  so  easy  to  him  may  be  very  diffi- 
cult when  presented  for  the  first  time.  Here  we 
might  repeat  what  was  said  about  looking  at  lessons 
from  the  pupil's  "  point  of  view." 

WELL  MAPPED  OUT. — The  teacher  who  is  to  give 
an  oral  lesson  should  go  before  his  class  with  the 
matter  clearly  mapped  out  in  his  own  mind,  and 
perhaps  drawn  out  in  writing,  in  the  form  of  a 
scheme.  He  should  have  clearly  determined  what 
points  he  proposes  to  reach,  and  in  what  order  they 
should  be  reached.  In  proper  oral  teaching,  there 
must  be  a  free  conference  between  teacher  and 
pupils, — questions  must  be  asked  and  answers  be 
given  by  both  parties.  Of  course,  one  can  not  deter- 
mine beforehand  what  the  entire  conversation  will 
be,  as  we  find  it  laid  down  in  some  Manuals  on 
"Oral  Teaching"  and  "Object  Lessons."  An 
attempt  to  make  the  conversation  conform  strictly 
to  some  prescribed  pattern  will  make  an  oral  lesson 
more  mechanical,  dull,  and  unproductive  than  the 
most  formal  recitation  of  lessons  memorized  from  a 
tolerable  text-book.  But  the  landmarks  of  the  les- 
son, the  points  to  be  reached,  may  be  settled  be- 
forehand, as  well  as  the  exact  and  clear  language 
in  which  to  state  the  conclusions  when  they  shall 
have  been  found. 

REACH  THE  POINTS. — As  the  conversation  must 
be  a  free  one,  if  the  teacher  is  not  cautious  he  may 
find  some  side  question  suggested  that  will  draw 
him  off  from  his  line  of  thought  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  will  not  put  the  points  he  intended  before 


1 78  Pedagogy. 


his  class.  It  requires  some  thought  and  skill  in  the 
teacher  to  treat  such  side  issues  in  a  reasonable  and 
intelligent  way,  and  still  to  withstand  their  ten- 
dency to  "  switch  him  off  his  track." 

SEE  THAT  THEY  ARE  UNDERSTOOD. — The  teacher 
may  have  reached  his  points  in  his  own  mind,  and 
may  have  put  his  conclusions  before  his  class;  but 
he  should  not  dismiss  the  subject  till  he  has  ascer- 
tained that  he  has  been  correctly  understood. 

A  story  will  illustrate  the  danger  against  which  we  are 
warning.  A  Sunday-school  teacher  undertook  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  faith  to  his  class  in  this  way :  He  called  their 
attention  to  a  boat  floating  on  the  river,  in  full  view  from  the 
window.  He  said,  "Boys,  do  you  see  the  boat?"  "Yes, 
sir."  "Can  you  see  the  bottom  of  the  boat?"  "No,  sir." 
"Do  you  know  what  is  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat?"  "No, 
sir."  "  If  I  should  tell  you  that  there  is  a  leg  of  mutton  in  the 
boat,  would  you  believe  it?"  "Yes,  sir."  "Could  you  see 
it?"  "No,  sir."  "But  you  would  believe  it  is  there?" 
"Yes,  sir."  "Well,"  said  he,  "  that  would  be  faith."  Like  a 
good  teacher,  on  the  next  Sunday  he  brought  up  the  review 
before  going  forward  with  the  new  lesson.  "Boys,"  said  he, 
"who  can  tell  me  what  faith  is,  this  morning?"  Many  hands 
were  raised.  "Johnny,  you  may  tell."  "A  leg  of  mutton  in 
a  boat,  sir." 

CALL  AGAIN  FOR  WHAT  is  GIVEN. — In  oral  les- 
sons, as  everywhere  else,  the  good  teacher  will 
impress  it  on  his  pupils  that  they  must  be  respon- 
sible for  reproducing  what  has  been  given  them. 
Failures  in  this  regard  are  very  common ;  probably 
more  than  half  of  all  that  is  put  before  students 
orally,  from  the  lectures  in  the  college  and  the  pro- 


Lessons.  179 

fessional  school  down  to  the  object  lessons  in  the 
primary  school,  is  wholly  lost,  because  the  pupil 
does  not  expect  to  be  made  responsible  for  it.  A 
good  teacher  of  children  and  youth  always  reaps 
where  he  sows ;  and  his  pupils  are  led  to  know  that 
such  will  be  the  case  before  they  have  been  with 
him  a  very  long  time. 


SCHEME    XII. 


NOTE. — Connect  this  Scheme  with  Scheme  X. 


5.  Teaching  Particu- 
lar Subjects,   .  .  . 


(i. 

Definitions. 

I. 

2. 

Reading,    .... 
Writing. 

t 

i 

Primary  Teaching. 
A  Method. 
Analysis. 
Advanced  Reading. 

q. 

Spelling,  

{I. 

With  Beginners. 

«D* 

4- 

Drawing. 

2. 

With  Older  Pupils. 

5- 

Singing. 

6. 

Grammar  

{I. 
2. 

Language  Lessons. 
Technical  Grammar. 

7- 

Arithmetic,   .  .  . 

u 

Primary  Work. 
Written  Work. 

8. 

Algebra. 

9- 

Geometry. 

10. 

Geography,  .  .  . 

{I. 
2. 

Primary  Work. 
Advanced  Work. 

ii. 

History. 

12. 

Natural  Science. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

TEACHING    PARTICULAR    SUBJECTS. 

THIS  is  not  a  book  of  methods.  We  shall  not 
enter  extensively  into  the  modes  of  teaching  the 
ordinary  studies  of  the  school ;  but  we  shall  merely 
attempt  to  point  out  some  of  the  aims  to  be  kept 
in  view,  and  some  of  the  principles  that  should 
guide  the  work. 

Reading. — This  subject  should  claim  our  atten- 
tion first,  as  reading  is  the  key  to  all  the  rest;  nor 
is  it  the  key  to  school-room  studies  alone,  but  to 
all  the  vast  stores  of  knowledge  that  wise  men  have 
embalmed  in  books.  Moreover,  oral  reading,  when 
its  quality  is  good,  is  a  means  of  enjoyment  to 
others,  and  of  high  aesthetic  culture,  like  music, 
painting,  and  sculpture.  What,  then,  is  reading? 

DEFINITIONS. — F.  W.  Parker  says,  "  Reading  is 
getting  thought  by  means  of  written  or  printed 
words  arranged  in  sentences."  "Oral  reading  is 
the  vocal  expression  of  thought  that  is  gained  by 
wrritten  or  printed  words."  As  an  amendment  to 
these  excellent  statements,  we  suggest  that  feeling 
or  emotion,  as  well  as  thought,  may  be,  and  gener- 
ally should  be,  derived  from  written  or  printed  lan- 
guage, and  it  should  be  expressed  in  oral  reading. 


1 82  Pedagogy. 


Reading  is  Talking  from  a  Book. — We  offer  this 
as  a  good,  short  definition  of  oral  reading.  Mere 
calling  of  words,  however  correctly  done,  is  not 
reading.  But  when  the  reader,  having  gained  from 
the  written  or  printed  page  the  thought  and  feeling 
there  expressed,  delivers  that  thought  and  feeling 
just  as  he  would  had  they  originated  in  his  own 
mind,  he  is  reading.  Hence,  oral  reading  implies 
two  things:  1st,  The  power  to  gain  from  the  writ- 
ten or  printed  page  the  thought  and  feeling  ex- 
pressed there ;  2d,  The  power  of  so  delivering  the 
words  orally  that  the  same  thought  and  feeling 
shall  be  awakened  in  the  hearer. 

PRIMARY  TEACHING. — In  teaching  reading,  as  in 
teaching  any  thing  else,  the  work  will  not  be 
rightly  done  unless  we  begin  with  the  learner's 
present  stock  of  knowledge  and  his  present  power 
to  do,  and  go  on  systematically  from  that  starting 
place.  What,  then,  is  the  status  of  the  ordinary 
child  as  he  enters  school  for  the  first  time?  He 
has  already  gained  much  knowledge  through  his 
senses.  He  has  learned  a  great  number  of  words, 
and  he  has  learned  to  combine  them  properly  in 
sentences.  If  he  has  heard  nothing  but  correct 
speech,  he  may  be  able  to  talk  elegantly.  He  has 
learned  to  express  his  ideas  and  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings with  a  wonderful  propriety  of  pitch,  tone,  em- 
phasis, and  inflection.  How  often  a  roomful  of 
grown  people  are  moved  to  a  smile  by  the  natural- 
ness of  a  child's  expression  when  he  talks  out  of 
his  own  thought  and  heart ! 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.         183 

Evidently,  then,  the  first  work  of  a  child  in  learn- 
ing to  read  is  to  learn  to  translate  the  written  or 
printed  signs, — to  associate  the  symbols  that  ap- 
peal to  the  eye  with  the  words  that  appeal,  to  the 
ear.  Whatever  aids  in  this  work  of  association  is 
helpful, — any  thing  else  is  a  hindrance. 

How  is  it  best  to  begin  this  work?  Negatively, 
not  by  teaching  the  alphabet;  these  letters  have  no 
connection  with  any  thing  already  in  the  child's 
mind.  Not  by  the  immediate  use  of  books,  or 
cards,  or  charts ;  an  introductory  work  should  pre- 
pare for  the  use  of  these. 

A  METHOD. — Take  a  real  object  with  which  the 
child  is  familiar,  and  in  which  he  is  interested ;  it 
may  be  a  cat,  or  dog,  etc.  Have  the  object  itself, 
a  toy  representation  of  it,  or  a  picture  of  it, — or  all 
of  them, — actually  present.  Talk  with  the  child 
about  the  object ;  get  him  to  talk  about  it.  Call 
his  attention  to  the  spoken  word  that  represents  the 
object ;  with  this  he  is  already  familiar.  Put  now 
the  corresponding  word  on  the  blackboard  in  neat 
script.  Point  to  the  word,  and  let  him  point  to  the 
object,  naming  it  at  the  same  time.  Let  him  at- 
tempt to  reproduce  the  word  on  his  slate.  Intro- 
duce every  variety  of  exercise  that  your  ingenuity 
will  suggest,  to  make  the  form  of  the  word  familiar 
to  him,  and  to  strengthen  the  association  between 
the  written  symbol  and  the  spoken  word. 

Proceed  in  this  way,  very  slowly,  day  by  day, 
until  he  has  learned  the  written  words  correspond- 
ing to  the  names  of  five  or  six  familiar  objects. 


1 84  Pedagogy. 


Next,  give  him  a  few  familiar  verbs,  like  run,  sit, 
pat,  sleep,  etc.,  in  a  similar  way,  letting  him  per- 
form the  action  indicated  in  response  to  the  written 
word.  You  are  now  prepared  to  put  short  and 
familiar  sentences  on  the  board,  using  the  nouns 
and  verbs  already  learned,  and  letting  the  child 
learn  the  articles,  prepositions,  and  connectives  by 
sight,  as  they  are  needed.  Impress  upon  the  child 
the  thought  that  you  are  "  talking  with  your  chalk 
or  pencil."  Let  him  read  the  sentences  you  write, 
and  perform  the  acts  any  of  those  sentences  indicate. 

Do  not  Read  the  Sentences  for  Him. — If  your  work 
is  slowly  and  carefully  done,  he  will  read  correctly 
out  of  his  own  thought  and  imagination :  this  is  a 
real  reading.  If  you  read  the  sentence  for  him,  he 
will  imitate  your  spoken  words,  perhaps  with  no 
conception  whatever  of  their  meaning.  This  will 
lead  at  once  to  the  parrot-like  imitation  that  so 
often  passes  for  genuine  reading,  even  with  the  pro- 
fessional elocutionist. 

Several  weeks  or  months  should  be  given  to  this 
work,  and  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  words  should 
be  attempted  in  the  time.  The  pupil  should  write 
the  words  he  learns,  on  his  slate, — at  first  singly, 
then  combined  into  sentences.  After  the  pupil  has 
learned  these  words  thoroughly,  has  learned  to  read 
readily  the  sentences  containing  them,  and  has 
learned  to  make  them  on  his  slate,  he  may  be 
taught  the  printed  equivalents  for  his  script.  Let 
the  teacher  first  print  the  words  neatly  beside  the 
same  words  in  script. 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  185 

There  is  no  need  for  the  child  to  print. 

Now  the  child  is  ready  for  his  books  and  charts ; 
but  he  must  not  be  asked  to  learn  new  words  too 
rapidly. 

ANALYSIS. — During  all  this  time,  no  attempt  has 
been  made  to  teach  the  child  his  letters, — that  is, 
to  analyze  the  written  words.  Nor  has  he  been 
taught  to  analyze  the  spoken  words.  Now,  per- 
haps the  time  has  come  for  both.  He  really  knows 
his  letters;  but  he  has  not  learned  to  distinguish 
them,  nor  to  call  them  by  name.  But,  if  the  pre- 
vious work  has  been  done  well,  he  can  very  soon 
do  both.  Nor  should  he  omit  to  learn  the  order  of 
the  letters  in  the  alphabet. 

He  may  be  taught  the  analysis  of  the  spoken 
words,  also,  at  about  the  same  time.  He  knows 
the  elementary  sounds,  and  he  can  make  them  with 
more  or  less  success;  but  he  has  not  learned  to 
distinguish  them.  The  teacher  may  lead  him  to  do 
this  by  "slow  pronunciation."  As  a  single  exam- 
ple, let  the  teacher  say:  "P-u-t  o-n  th-e  c-a-p, " 
requiring  the  pupil  to  suit  the  action  to  the  word. 
\_Do  not  name  these  letters  ;  give  tJie  sounds  J\  When 
the  pupil  has  learned  to  distinguish  the  separate 
sounds,  he  may  then  be  taught  to  make  them.  He 
is  now  ready  to  begin  the  arduous  task  of  learning 
to  associate  the  elements  of  the  written  and  spoken 
words, — that  is,  the  phonic  elements  with  the  let- 
ters that  represent  them. 

Do  not  Speak  of  the  "Sounds  of  the  Letters." — 
Letters  have  no  sounds.  Letters  represent  sounds 

Fed.— 16. 


1 86  Pedagogy. 


which  were  made  and  recognized  long  before  letters 
were  invented. 

The  method  of  teaching  primary  reading  outlined 
above  is  no  mere  theory ;  it  is  essentially  the  one 
used  by  our  most  progressive  and  successful  teach- 
ers. Of  course,  the  details  may  vary  indefinitely. 

ADVANCED  READING. — The  teaching  of  reading  to 
advanced  pupils  will  vary  greatly  in  mode  from  the 
teaching  of  primary  reading,  but  the  same  princi- 
ples should  guide  the  work.  True  oral  reading 
proceeds  from  within,  outward,- — never  in  the  re- 
verse order.  First,  there  must  be  a  mastery,  and 
an  appropriation,  of  the  thought  and  feeling;  then, 
there  must  be  a  proper  expression  of  the  same. 
All  formal  rules  are  as  futile  for  direction  in  reading 
as  they  are  in  speech ;  all  marking  of  emphases,  of 
inflections,  and  of  the  quality  of  the  voice,  pitch, 
etc.,  is  sure  to  hamper  the  reader  who  attempts  to 
follow  such  marks  in  reading. 

Directions  as  to  the  length  of  pause  or  kind  of 
inflection  at  the  marks  of  punctuation,  are  absurd. 

The  rules  of  syntax  serve  an  admirable  purpose, 
no  doubt,  but  he  who  attempts  to  think  of  them  as 
he  speaks  will  make  a  poor  speaker.  The  same 
may  be  said  about  the  "  Rules  for  Reading." 

Proper  drill  in  the  use  of  the  vocal  organs,  exer- 
cises in  pitch,  power,  emphasis,  inflection,  quality 
of  tone,  etc.,  will  serve  a  very  useful  purpose  as 
drill  simply,  or  as  preparatory  work.  But,  when 
one  "reads  orally,"  he  should  first  master  the 
thought  and  feeling  of  his  author;  then,  with  no 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  187 

consciousness  but  of  that  thought  and  feeling,  give 
forth  the  true  expression.  If  one  be  taught,  from 
the  beginning,  to  read  in  the  way  we  have  indi- 
cated, he  will  never  be  content  to  read,  like  Ham- 
let, "Words,  words,  words,"  when  he  grows  older. 

Furthermore,  if  he  has  learned  to  get  the  mean- 
ing from  the  printed  page,  if  he  is  accustomed  from 
the  beginning  to  have  his  inner  nature  stirred  by 
what  he  reads,  he  is  not  likely  either  to  give  up 
reading,  or  to  develop  a  fondness  for  the  vapid, 
worthless  literature  that  appeals  to  the  weak  only. 
We  think  that  a  correct  teaching  of  reading  has 
much  to  do  in  solving  the  question  of  the  apprecia- 
tion and  love  of  good  literature. 

Writing. — We  have  recommended  that  the  pupil 
begin  to  write  as  soon  as  he  begins  to  read.  We 
believe  this  agrees  with  the  laws  of  the  child's 
nature.  In  order  to  write  a  word,  he  needs  to 
study  its  form,  and  then  to  train  his  muscles  to 
imitate  that  form  with  chalk  or  pencil.  His  per- 
ceptive powers  are  keen ;  why  may  he  not  use 
them  in  studying  the  forms  of  words  as  well  as  in 
any  other  way?  His  tendency  to  use  his  muscles 
is  irrepressible, — they  fairly  "ache"  to  be  used; 
why  may  they  not  be  used  in  copying  forms  of  the 
words  he  has  studied?  Besides,  he  has  a  great 
desire  to  do  what  he  sees  his  teacher  do;  why  not 
train  him  to  imitate  her  production  of  written 
words  ?  Furthermore,  experience  proves  that  it  is 
entirely  practicable  for  children  to  learn  to  write 
thus  early.  At  first,  the  pupils'  attempts  will  be 


1 88  Pedagogy. 


simply  attempts  to  imitate  without  any  analysis  or 
description.  But,  as  soon  as  they  have  learned 
their  letters,  they  will  be  ready  to  practice  and  to 
describe  the  analysis  of  the  letters  as  taught  in  any 
good  system  of  penmanship. 

Let  the  teacher  choose  good,  but  the  simplest, 
forms  for  the  letters  she  uses  in  the  wrords  she 
gives  her  little  pupils  to  copy.  Let  her  treat  their 
first  efforts  very  leniently.  Let  her  allow  them  a 
great  deal  of  practice ;  it  will  enable  them  to  pass 
many  hours  happily,  instead  of  spending  them  in 
the  torture  of  ''sitting  still." 

We  would  suggest  the  following  rules  as  impor- 
tant to  be  observed  by  the  teacher: 

First. — Select  the  simplest  forms  for  the  letters, 
and  teach  but  one  form  for  each. 

Second. — Put  no  false  forms  before  the  little  pu- 
pil, and  remove  in  the  quietest  and  quickest  way 
such  false  forms  as  he  may  make. 

Third. — Proceed  slowly  and  insist  upon  very  care- 
ful work ;  fully  recognize  and  encourage  all  effort, 
and  give  reasonable  success  its  full  meed  of  praise. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  the  pupil  early  acquire 
the  power  to  write  in  order  that  he  may  practice 
"  talking  with  the  pencil,"  as  well  as  understand 
what  others  say  with  the  pencil.  In  this  way,  he 
will  grow  into  the  habit  of  "composition"  as  nat- 
urally and  as  easily  as  he  becomes  accustomed  to 
hear  and  to  use  the  forms  of  oral  speech.  There  is 
one  great  advantage  in  the  child's  expressing  him- 
self by  writing  over  expression  by  speech  alone,— 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  189 

he  is  more  likely  to  show  his  individuality;  the  ten- 
dency is  less  strong  to  imitate  merely. 

Spelling. — Of  course,  in  merely  copying  the 
forms  of  words  the  pupil  begins  his  work  in  spell- 
ing, even  though  he  may  not  yet  have  learned  to 
distinguish  the  letters.  When  he  comes  to  make 
such  distinction,  he  is  studying  spelling  more 
effectively.  And  he  is  studying  it  in  the  only  way 
that  is  practical, — that  is,  as  he  has  occasion  to  use 
it.  He  learns  to  spell  each  word  when  he  learns 
the  word ;  he  gets  the  correct  picture  of  it  in  his 
mind,  and  he  learns  to  make  that  picture.  More- 
over, he  learns  the  form  of  the  word  in  connection 
with  its  meaning ;  this  is  the  only  reasonable  way. 
There  is  no  occasion  for  the  absurd  practice  of 
spelling  lists  of  abstract  words. 

By  this  method,  the  child  forms  the  habit  of 
looking  at  words  in  their  parts, — of  taking  cog- 
nizance of  the  letters  that  make  up  a  written  word 
at  the  time  he  learns  the  word.  Why  is  not  his 
sight  as  truly  trained  in  analyzing  a  word  as  in  an- 
alyzing a  flower? 

If  the  plan  of  learning  to  spell  every  word  as  the 
word  is  acquired  is  kept  up  in  all  the  pupil's 
course,  as  it  ought  to  be,  he  will  be  able  to  spell 
all  the  words  in  his  vocabulary ;  he  has  no  occasion 
to  spell  any  others.  The  problem  of  learning  to 
spell  is  solved,  and  it  is  solved  in  the  right  way. 

There  is  no  use  for  the  spelling-book. 

By  the  process  of  primary  teaching  that  we  have 
recommended,  the  pupil  is  learning  to  read,  to 


1 90  Pedagogy. 


write,  and  to  spell  at  the  same  time ;  this  is  right, 
and  one  process  will  help  the  others.  Yet  it  will 
be  observed  that  reading  is  emphasized  first,  then 
writing,  then  spelling;  this,  we  think,  is  the  right 
order.  And  the  simplest  uses  of  capitals  and 
punctuation  marks  may  also  be  taught  at  the  same 
time. 

OLDER  PUPILS. — The  teacher  who  has  to  deal 
with  pupils  whose  primary  education  has  been  dif- 
ferent will  find  need  for  exercises  in  spelling.  But 
the  most  profitable  work  will  still  be  done  by  writ- 
ing! Let  the  word  to  be  spelled  be  pronounced 
clearly  and  correctly,  and  but  once.  Let  the  writ- 
ing be  with  ink,  and  allow  no  changes  nor  erasures. 
Let  the  work  be  carefully  corrected,  and  the  missed 
words  be  rewritten  properly. 

Oral  spelling  is  of  but  little  value. 

As  a  rule,  the  spelling  of  words  in  English  must 
be  learned  individually.  Something  may  be  gained 
by  grouping  in  families,  by  studying  prefixes  and 
suffixes,  and  by  forming  derivatives.  When  one  is 
able  to  study  the  etymology  of  words,  that  may 
help  his  spelling ;  for  instance,  one  is  not  likely  to 
misspell  exhilarate,  if  he  remembers  its  connection 
with  hilarity ;  nor  exonerate,  if  he  connects  it  with 
onerous. 

There  are  very  few  rules  for  spelling  that  are  of 
any  practical  value.  We  know  of  none  except 
these  three: 

First. — Final  silent  e  is  omitted  on  taking  a  suffix 
beginning  with  a  vowel. 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  191 

Second. — Final  y,  preceded  by  a  consonant,  is 
changed  to  i  on  taking  any  suffix  which  does  not 
begin  with  i. 

Third. — Monosyllables  and  words  accented  on  the 
last  syllable,  ending  in  a  single  consonant  preceded 
by  a  single  vowel,  double  the  final  consonant  on 
taking  a  suffix  beginning  writh  a  vowel. 

The  exceptions  to  these  rules  are  very  few, 
although  every  one  of  them  has  some  exceptions ; 
these  exceptions  should  be  carefully  learned. 

Drawing. — Reading  and  writing  are  modes  of 
expression;  and  drawing,  in  its  elements,  should  be 
taught  to  children  as  a  mode  of  expression  also. 
Its  relation  to  art  may  properly  be  ignored  in  ordi- 
nary classes  of  beginners.  The  wish  to  draw,  to 
"make"  something,  is  almost  universal  with  chil- 
dren. Many  of  us  can  remember  when  it  was  a 
crime  in  school  to  indulge  this  propensity.  A 
better  day  has  dawned,  and  children  are  now 
allowed  to  beguile  many  a  weary  hour  with  slate 
and  pencil.  A  little  care,  encouragement,  and  in- 
struction from  a  wise  teacher  can  develop  this  taste 
in  children  into  an  efficient  and  pleasing  mode  of 
expression.  Lead  the  children  to  draw  simple 
forms,  help  them  to  see  the  characteristic  lines  and 
to  reproduce  them ;  encourage  effort,  recognize  any 
real  success,  and  insist  upon  slow  and  careful  work. 

Singing. — This,  too,  is  a  mode  of  expression  in 
which  most  children  take  delight.  Unlike  the 
others,  it  is  primarily  an  expression  of  the  feelings. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  the  little  songs  shall  be 


1 9  2  Pedagogy. 


simple,  but  that  they  shall  not  be  nonsense.  The 
children  should  learn  them .  by  rote  at  first,  and 
should  be  taught  to  sing  them  with  correct  expres- 
sion. Do  not  suffer  them  to  shout  nor  scream  in 
their  singing.  Encourage  a  clear  delivery  of  the 
words. 

It  has  been  found  that  children  can  learn  simple 
musical  notation  very  early ;  but  it  is  not  our  pur- 
pose to  speak  of  that  in  this  connection. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TEACHING    PARTICULAR    SUBJECTS. — Concluded. 

Grammar. — Many  text-books  on  grammar  con- 
tain this  sentence:  "  English  grammar  teaches  us 
to  speak  and  to  write  the  English  language  cor- 
rectly." It  is  certain  that  as  grammar  is  commonly 
studied  this  is  not  true.  Many  who  are  most  ex- 
pert in  the  processes  of  analysis  and  parsing  are  ex- 
ceedingly clumsy  and  inaccurate  in  their  use  of  the 
English  language,  nor  do  their  grammatical  exer- 
cises have  any  apparent  effect  to  improve  their  lan- 
guage. The  distinction  between  practical  language 
lessons  and  the  study  of  technical  grammar  is  a 
very  obvious  one,  and  the  teacher  can  not  afford  to 
ignore  it,  nor  to  lose  sight  of  it. 

LANGUAGE  LESSONS. — The  child  learns  to  talk  con 
rectly  by  talking  correctly.  If  he  hears  nothing 
but  good  language,  he  acquires  the  habit  of  using 
good  language  unconsciously.  But  the  great  trouble 
is,  that  few  or  no  children  hear  none  but  correct 
speech.  Hence,  the  teacher  needs  to  exert  himself 
to  correct  the  evil  effects  of  incorrect  language 
heard  by  the  child  at  home,  in  the  play-ground,  on 
the  streets,  etc.  Lessons  in  language  are  the  first 
to  be  given  in  school ;  training  in  the  awakening  of 

Ped.-17.  I 


1 94  Pedagogy. 


thought  and  in  the  art  of  expressing  thought  is  the 
chief  work  of  the  primary  teacher.  Nor  should  the 
training  in  the  art  of  expression  be  relinquished 
or  relaxed  during  the  whole  period  of  pupilage. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  point  out  methods  of  doing 
this  work,  — we  simply  insist  on  the  absolute  im- 
portance of  it.  One  who  inquires  earnestly  how  to 
do  it  will  find  many  helpful  books  in  the  market, 
but  his  success  will  depend  mainly  upon  two 
things :  First,  The  correctness  of  his  own  speech ; 
Second,  His  ingenuity  in  devising  ways  of  leading 
his  pupils  into  habits  of  expressive  and  correct 
language. 

TECHNICAL  GRAMMAR.— The  successful  pursuit  of 
this  study  demands  a  good  degree  of  maturity  of 
mind,  and  a  previous  training  in  the  processes  of 
reflection  and  analysis.  Hence,  this  should  be  one 
of  the  last  studies  to  be  taken  up  in  a  country 
school.  In  our  graded  schools,  it  should  be  de- 
ferred until  the  pupil  is  nearly  ready  for  the  High 
School, — if,  indeed,  it  should  be  undertaken  at  all 
before  the  pupil  enters  the  High  School. 

When  the  study  is  undertaken,  the  pupil  should 
be  led  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  laws  of  English 
speech  by  an  inductive  study  of  the  English  lan- 
guage itself.  As  in  any  other  inductive  study,  a 
good  text-book  may  aid ;  but  it  must  be  a  text- 
book made  from  a  study  of  the  English  tongue,  not 
a  Latin  Grammar  reconstructed  to  fit  the  English 
language.  When  the  study  is  properly  pursued  by 
pupils  who  are  prepared  for  it  by  age  and  previous 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  1 95 

training,    few  studies,    if  any,    will  surpass  grammar 
in  interest  or  profit. 

Arithmetic. — The  first  thing  to  be  said  about 
arithmetic  is  that  it  takes  much  too  large  a  propor- 
tion of  the  time  in  a  majority  of  our  schools.  Yet, 
while  this  is  true,  very  few  pupils  become  really 
accurate  and  expert  in  the  practice  of  arithmetic. 
We  think  there  are  several  reasons  for  this,  some 
of  which  will  be  given. 

Sufficient  care  is  not  taken  to  teach  the  pupil 
numbers  themselves, — he  is  hurried  too  soon  into 
notation,  and  a  manipulation  of  abstract  symbols.* 
He  is  not  drilled  upon  the  fundamental  processes 
until  he  thoroughly  masters  them.  The  subject  is 
made  too  complicated ;  operations  involving  the 
same  principles  and  essentially  the  same  processes 
are  treated  as  though  there  were  no  likeness  be- 
tween them.  The  multiplication  of  "  rules"  and 
"cases"  is  needless,  confusing,  and  discouraging. 
Not  enough  practice  is  given  in  examples  from  real 
life,  such  as  the  pupil  does  not  find  classified  and 
arranged  under  their  respective  "  rules."  Usually, 
the  pupil  has  the  "answer"  before  him,  and  works 
to  obtain  the  figures  which  express  the  answer, 
instead  of  solving  his  problem  in  a  practical  and 
independent  manner.  Fully  one  third  of  the 


*  "  Discriminate  very  sharply  between  learning  number  and  learning 
the  language  of  number.  The  former  must  precede  the  latter.  If  I  am 
any  judge  of  results,  nine  tenths  of  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  consists  in 
teaching  figures  alone,  with  little  or  no  regard  to  numbers." — F.  W. 
Parker. 


196  Pedagogy. 


text-book  is  usually  made  up  of  matter  wholly 
irrelevant,  consisting  either  of  preposterous  puzzles 
or  of  work  that  is  special  and  technical.  Why 
should  the  special  work  of  the  banker,  the  custom- 
house officer,  etc.,  enter  into  the  general  course  of 
instruction  in  arithmetic  ?  If  the  pupil  thoroughly 
master  the  principles,  and  become  quick  and  ac- 
curate in  calculation,  the  work  of  the  common 
school  is  done ;  the  special  applications  of  these 
principles  may  well  be  deferred  till  he  enters  the 
bank  or  the  counting-room. 

PRIMARY  WORK. — The  first  steps  in  arithmetic 
should  lead  the  pupil  to  a  full  and  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  a  few  of  the  smallest  numbers.  A  child 
may  be  able  to  count  ten,  who  does  not  know  ten. 
He  does  not  know  ten  till  he  knows  thoroughly  all 
the  numbers  that  will  make  ten,  and  can  put  to- 
gether all  possible  unequal  numbers  to  make  ten, 
as  well  as  all  equal  numbers  that  will  give  the  same 
result.  He  must  know  also  all  the  ways  in  which 
ten  can  be  destroyed,  either  by  taking  away  uiv 
equal  numbers,  or  by  withdrawing  equal  numbers. 

In  all  this  elementary  work,  he  must  deal  with 
objects,  not  with  abstractions.  Let  him  count 
objects,  always  putting  four  things  together  when 
he  says  "four"  in  his  counting,  etc.  Often  the 
child's  counting  is  a  mere  saying  of  empty  words ; 
when  his  "  three"  is  not  an  empty  word,  it  often 
means  only  the  third  instead  of  an  aggregate  of 
three  ones.  It  is  thought  by  many  experienced 
teachers  that  a  child  does  well  if  he  really  learns 


Teaching  Particular  Siibjccts.  197 

the  first  ten  numbers  in  one  year.  But,  whatever 
time  it  may  take,  his  first  business  should  be  to 
learn  these  numbers  thoroughly ;  he  is  not  ready 
for  notation,  nor  for  any  use  of  figures  beyond  a 
simple  writing  of  these  numbers,  until  this  work  is 
done. 

WRITTEN  WORK. — When  the  pupil  passes  on  to 
written  work  in  arithmetic,  he  should  be  shown 
that  the  chief  use  of  figures  is  to  enable  him  to 
make  computations  with  numbers  too  large  for  him 
to  grasp  mentally, — the  thought  necessary  to  lead  to 
a  correct  process  is  just  the  same  as  in  the  case  of 
small  numbers,  where  no  figures  are  used.  There 
is  no  reason  for  the  wide  distinction  between 
"mental"  and  "written"  arithmetic. 

In  beginning  the  use  of  figures  in  computation, 
let  the  child  first  master  the  process  thoroughly ; 
the  reasons  for  "carrying,"  for  "inverting  the  divi- 
sor," etc.,  may  come  later, — first,  Jwiv ;  then,  why. 
A  very  thorough  drill  on  the  simple  operations,  the 
"ground  rules,"  should  be  given;  slow  progress 
here,  if  sure,  is  true  haste.  The  pupil  should  not 
only  learn  his  multiplication  table  completely,  but 
he  should  learn  the  prime  factors  of  all  numbers  as 
high  as  one  hundred,  and  he  should  learn  the 
squares  as  far  as  the  square  of  twenty-five  at  least. 
Usually,  the  subject  of  factors  and  factoring  is 
passed  over  quite  too  slightly. 

He  should  be  encouraged  to  use  short  methods 
whenever  it  is  possible,  and  he  should  be  taught  to 
be  on  the  lookout  for  opportunities  to  use  them. 


198  Pedagogy. 


The  distinct  principles  of  arithmetic  are  very  few, 
and  the  pupil  should  be  led  to  see  what  operations 
rest  on  the  same  principle,  once  for  all ;  and  then 
he  should  be  held  to  recognize  that  principle  in  all 
cases  to  which  it  applies.  He  should  be  taught  to 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  accuracy;  if  he 
has  made  a  mistake  in  his  work,  that  work  should 
not  be  erased  till  the  mistake  has  been  found  and 
corrected.  He  should  be  taught  to  avoid  frequent 
changes  in  his  work;  let  him  put  his  figures  down 
with  the  thought  that  they  are  not  to  be  changed, 
but  are  to  stand  as  first  written.  It  may  be  well  to 
forbid  him  to  use  an  eraser  in  any  case  without 
special  permission.  None  but  neat  work  should 
ever  be  accepted  by  the  teacher. 

Algebra. — The  study  of  algebra  in  our  common 
schools  should  aim  chiefly  to  throw  light  on  the 
principles  and  processes  of  arithmetic,  and  to  train 
the  pupils'  power  of  abstraction  and  reasoning.  It 
is  not  of  much  consequence  to  find  the  length  of  a 
pole  that  is  partly  in  the  mud,  partly  in  the  water, 
and  partly  in  the  air ! 

The  first  business  in  learning  algebra  is  to  master 
the  notation ;  every  algebraic  term  is  a  word  or 
phrase  in  algebraic  language, — the  equation  is  the 
sentence.  Finding  an  equation  for  a  problem  is 
translating  that  problem  from  common  language 
into  the  language  of  algebra. 

Great  care  must  be  taken  that  technical  terms  do 
not  obscure  thought ;  the  pupil  should  be  asked  to 
give  and  to  illustrate  their  meaning  very  frequently. 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  199 

It  is  often  well  to  forbid  the  use  of  technical  terms 
for  a  time ;  let  the  pupil  describe  his  operations  on 
an  equation  without  once  saying  "transpose," 
"change  signs,"  "collect  terms,"  etc.  The  pupil 
should  often  be  required  to  translate  formulas  into 
rules,  and  rules  into  formulas  ;  in  short,  he  should 
be  led  to  see  that,  in  elementary  algebra,  he  is  sim- 
ply using  a  briefer  and  more  general  language  than 
he  has  found  in  his  arithmetic. 

Geometry. — Dr.  Thomas  Hill,  in  his  "True 
Order  of  Studies,"  shows  that  the  study  of  form 
may  well  come  before  algebra,  or  primary  arith- 
metic even, — it  is  a  study  for  young  children. 
This  is  not  properly  a  study  of  geometry,  but  it  is 
an  excellent  preparation  for  that  study.  In  the 
early  steps  in  geometry,  great  care  must  be  taken 
that  the  pupil  does  not  fail  to  see  the  relation  of 
what  he  is  now  studying  to  the  things  that  have 
claimed  his  thought  and  attention  previously.  As 
in  algebra,  he  must  not  allow  his  thought  to  be 
clouded  by  technicalities.  It  is  generally  best  to 
forbid  the  use  of  the  same  letters  in  the  same 
places  on  the  figures  used  in  the  class  demonstra- 
tion that  were  found  in  the  text-book.  It  is  well, 
also,  to  encourage  the  pupil  to  draw  his  figure  in 
as  many  forms  as  he  can,  only  taking  care  that  they 
conform  to  the  hypothesis  as  given. 

Few  studies,  if  any,  will  do  more  to  develop  the 
mind  of  the  pupil  than  will  geometry  when  it  is 
properly  taught,  and  the  teaching  of  this  subject 
might  well  occupy  much  time  that  is  frittered  away 


2OO  Pedagogy. 


over  the  puzzles  in  the  back  part  of  our  "  higher" 
arithmetics. 

Geography. — No  other  study,  except  reading, 
can  be  made  more  interesting  to  the  child,  or  can 
be  made  to  lead  out  the  thoughts  in  all  directions 
more  successfully  than  geography.  And  yet,  as  it 
is  often  taught,  no  other  study  is  so  dry  or  profit- 
less. The  trouble  is  that  it  is  made  a  mere  memor- 
izing of  words,  or  at  best  an  attempt  to  stuff  the 
memory  with  a  multitude  of  unrelated,  often  unim- 
portant, facts.  In  no  study,  perhaps,  is  the  princi- 
ple that  we  should  begin  with  the  child  where  we 
find  him,  more  grossly  violated  than  in  geography. 
What  has  the  first  part  of  most  Primary  Geogra- 
phies to  do  with  any  thing  the  child  has  ever  seen, 
heard,  or  dreamed  of?  When  he  comes  to  a  map, 
what  is  done  to  enable  him  to  put  any  real  mean- 
ing into  the  queer  conglomeration  of  form  and 
color?  The  result  is  that  he  learns  words  about  a 
world  he  never  saw,  and  he  hunts  out  names  on  a 
map  that  means  nothing  beyond  the  thing  itself. 
He  shuts  up  his  book  and  map,  leaves  them  in  his 
desk,  and  goes  out  into  the  real  world  hardly  think- 
ing that  what  he  now  meets  has  any  connection 
with  what  he  has  left. 

PRIMARY  WORK. — A  certain  amount  of  prelimi- 
nary work  should  be  done  in  the  primary  classes, 
to  prepare  the  pupil  for  the  study  of  geography, — 
copious  and  thorough  exercises  in  learning  direc- 
tion, distance,  and  relative  position  are  what  we 
mean.  Then,  he  needs  to  learn  the  language  by 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.          201 

which  these  things  are  expressed  in  maps  and 
charts.  Let  the  teacher,  with  his  little  pupils, 
make  a  survey  of  the  school-room,  observing  the 
directions,  distances,  and  relative  positions  of  the 
parts  of  the  room  and  of  the  objects  in  it.  Then, 
let  the  teacher  make  a  plan  or  map  of  the  school- 
room on  the  blackboard,  properly  representing  all 
these  things. 

//  is  well  to  make  this  map  on  the  north  side  of  the 
room. 

This  map  may  be  made  the  key  to  the  reading 
of  all  maps ;  it  is  a  symbol  to  the  pupil  of  some- 
thing he  has  seen ;  and  through  it  he  may  learn 
how  to  get  knowledge  of  what  he  can  not  see  by 
the  use  of  similar  symbols.  A  map  of  the  school- 
room should  be  followed  by  a  map  of  the  school- 
yard, then  by  one  of  the  neighborhood  or  the 
village. 

Other  things  in  the  neighborhood  should  now  be 
studied :  the  familiar  brook  must  be  made  the  type 
of  rivers ;  the  hill,  of  the  mountains ;  the  plain,  of 
the  prairies,  etc.  The  business  of  the  neighbor- 
hood must  be  made  the  medium  for  understanding 
the  occupations  of  men  the  world  over.  The  polit- 
ical, social,  and  religious  affairs  of  the  village  or 
town  must  be  made  the  key  to  the  politics,  religion, 
and  social  life  of  the  nations. 

When  this  stock  of  knowledge  of  his  immediate 
surroundings  is  made  conscious  and  systematic  to 
the  child,  then  he  is  prepared  to  enter  on  the  study 
of  geography. 


202  Pedagogy. 


The  usual  progress  of  the  child  is  from  the  whole 
to  parts,  and  now  he  is  prepared  for  some  lessons 
upon  the  earth  as  a  whole.  Here  a  globe  is  of 
prime  value ;  only,  care  must  be  taken  that  the 
pupil  regard  the  globe  as  a  symbol, — his  thought 
must  not  be  allowed  to  stop  with  the  globe  itself. 
Suppose  the  teacher  has  no  globe  ?  Use  a  foot-ball 
or  a  pumpkin ;  an  ingenious  teacher  can  always  find 
means  of  illustration.  Make  no  attempt  at  this 
stage  of  the  work  to  teach  mathematical  geography. 

ADVANCED  WORK. — When  the  pupil  has  done  the 
preliminary  work,  and  has  some  knowledge  of  the 
earth  as  a  body,  he  may  then  enter  upon  the  study 
of  the  countries  of  the  world ;  he  should  begin  with 
his  own.  The  map  should  be  made  the  basis  of 
his  study, — and  the  map  should  be  transferred,  as 
it  were,  from  the  paper  to  the  mind ;  to  do  this, 
study  the  map,  and  draw  it.  Map  drawing  should 
be  a  prominent  part  of  geographical  work  from  be- 
ginning to  end. 

Let  the  earth's  surface  receive  attention  now ; 
modeling  in  clay  will  be  helpful  in  learning  about 
the  surface.  Do  not  attempt  too  great  minuteness 
in  the  maps  nor  in  description  ;  select  only  a  few 
things  to  be  learned,  and  those  the  most  important, 
and  teach  them  thoroughly.  Enrich  the  study  by 
pictures,  anecdotes,  stories  of  travel,  imaginary 
journeys,  etc.  Appeal  to  the  imagination  in  all 
ways.  All  true  geographical  knowledge  lies  in  the 
mind  in  a  series  of  pictures.  And  the  teacher  who 
succeeds  in  setting  the  imagination  of  his  pupils  in 


Teaching  Particular  Subjects.  203 

geography  to  working  actively  and  judiciously,  will 
find  no  lack  of  interest  or  progress. 

History. — This  study  is  very  closely  related  to 
geography.  There  is  the  same  necessity  for  choos- 
ing wisely  out  of  the  multitude  of  facts  that  might 
be  learned ;  there  is  the  same  call  for  the  imagina- 
tion to  work.  Geography  may  be  made  more  inter- 
esting by  teaching  something  of  history  with  it ; 
and  the  study  of  geography  must  be  kept  up  in 
history ;  map  drawing  is  just  as  important  here  as 
there.  Historical  study  for  quite  young  children 
must  be  mostly  in  the  form  of  biography. 

In  higher  classes  in  history,  some  dates  must  be 
learned ;  let  them  be  few  and  well-chosen,  and  let 
them  be  learned  thoroughly.  Let  the  study  of  his- 
tory deal  much  with  the  every-day  lives  of  men, 
and  as  little  as  may  be  with  their  wars  and  fight- 
ings. 

Natural  Science. — But  little,  if  any  thing,  can 
be  done  in  the  study  of  natural  science  in  our  com- 
mon schools.  But,  if  the  senses  are  properly 
trained,  if  plants  and  animals  are  studied,  if  geog- 
raphy is  properly  taught,  if  the  pupils  are  trained 
and  encouraged  to  make  and  arrange  collections,  a 
sure  foundation  will  be  laid  for  studying  these  sub- 
jects in  the  right  way  when  time  and  opportunity 
shall  serve. 


SCHEME     XIII. 


NOTE. — Connect   this   Scheme   with   Scheme    I, — the  General   Scheme. 


4.  TheCommu-    (   i.  Its  Relations  and  Wants, 
nity J 

I  2.  The  Teacher's  Relations, 


1.  The  "  New  "  Euucation, 

2.  Apparatus. 

3.  Marking, 


5.  Miscellany,  .  - 


4.  Religious  Exercises. 

5.  Primary  Teaching. 

6.  Teaching,  a  Profession. 
\  7.  Aphoristic  Principles. 


1.  To  School  Officers. 

2.  To  Parents. 

3.  To  the  People. 

1.  Child-Nature. 

2.  Pleasant  Work. 

3.  Playing  with  Pupils. 


1.  What  it  Means. 

2.  Attendance. 

3.  Deportment. 

4.  Scholarship. 


(204) 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  Community. — It  depends  primarily  upon 
the  community  whether  our  public  schools  shall  be 
what  they  ought  to  be  or  not.  With  us,  no  "  pa- 
ternal "  government  can  reach  down  and  make  the 
schools  greatly  different  from  what  the  people  de- 
sire. The  people  determine  how  much  money 
shall  be  spent  for  schools ;  and,  through  the  officers 
whom  they  choose,  they  determine  what  pay  the 
teacher  shall  receive,  and  wrhat  shall  be  the  general 
character  of  the  work  done  in  the  schools. 

Where  the  people  are  awake  and  intelligent  in 
school  affairs,  it  can  rarely  fail  that  good  schools 
will  be  found.  Where  the  people  have  little  inter- 
est, or  mistake  in  their  notions  of  what  constitutes 
a  good  school,  there  can  hardly  be  a  good  school 
except  by  a  kind  of  accident. 

It  is  certain  that,  in  many  places,  the  people  are 
not  as  earnest  as  they  should  be  to  have  their  chil- 
dren well  taught,  nor  have  they  the  knowledge  that 
they  ought  to  have  as  to  what  constitutes  good 
teaching.  Much  is  done  to  fit  teachers  for  their 
work,  to  improve  text-books  and  apparatus,  to  build 
good  school-houses,  etc.,  while  little  seems  to  be 

(205) 


206  Pedagogy. 


done  to  disseminate  a  more  correct  knowledge  re- 
specting education  among  the  people,  or  to  arouse 
them  to  demand  better  work  in  the  school-room. 

The  Teacher's  Relations. — Our  purpose,  how- 
ever, is  to  speak  chiefly  of  the  relations  of  the 
teacher  to  the  community. 

To  SCHOOL  OFFICERS. — The  teacher  should  under- 
stand and  fully  recognize  his  relations  to  the  school 
officers  by  whom  he  is  employed,  and  under  whom 
he  works.  He  must  admit  that  the  law  makes 
them  his  superiors,  and  gives  the  power  of  ultimate 
control  into  their  hands.  They  may  be  ignorant, 
prejudiced,  or  overbearing ;  but,  if  he  is  wise,  the 
teacher  will  enter  into  no  controversy  with  them. 
If  he  can  not  come  to  such  an  understanding  with 
them  as  shall  permit  him  to  go  forward  peaceably 
in  such  a  performance  of  his  duties  as  his  judgment 
dictates,  he  would  better  close  his  connection  with 
them,  and  seek  another  field. 

Usually,  however,  if  a  teacher  really  understands 
his  business,  and  if  his  character  is  such  as  to  com- 
mand the  respect  of  others,  he  can  secure  harmony 
and  co-operation  from  his  school  officers  by  such  a 
combination  of  suavity,  firmness,  and  good  sense  as 
would  give  success  in  other  relations  with  men.  At 
any  rate,  no  school  can  be  expected  to  be  very 
prosperous  without  harmony  and  co-operation  be- 
tween the  teacher  and  the  school  authorities. 

To  PARENTS. — There  is  much  truth  in  the  saying 
that  the  teacher  is  in  loco  parcntis, — in  the  place  of 
the  parent.  The  work  of  the  school  is  supple- 


Miscellaneous.  207 


mentary  to  the  work  of  the  home ;  the  school  is 
not  a  substitute  for  the  home.  Teachers  sometimes 
assume  that  the  whole  work  of  education  is  in  their 
hands ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  sometimes  held 
responsible  for  the  whole  work  of  the  mental  and 
moral  training  of  the  children.  This  is  a  grave 
mistake;  the  teacher  can  only  enter  into  the 
parents'  labors  at  best,  and  he  should  be  held  re- 
sponsible only  for  the  part  of  the  work  that  fairly 
belongs  to  him. 

The  work  of  the  parent  and  teacher  is  one. 
From  this,  it  follows  that  the  closest  understanding 
and  harmony  between  parent  and  teacher  are  of  the 
greatest  importance.  The  teacher  should  be  active 
in  bringing  about  this  harmony.  How  can  he  do  it? 

First,  By  visiting  the  parents,  not  merely  as  a 
teacher,  but  socially  as  a  friend.  On  the  occasion 
of  such  visits,  it  may  be  proper  for  him  to  talk  of 
the  condition  of  the  school,  of  his  plans  for  its  im- 
provement, and  of  the  condition  and  progress  of 
the  pupils  from  the  family  he  is  visiting.  Such 
statements  as  he  makes  on  these  subjects  should  be 
frank  and  truthful.  But  his  influence  will  be 
greatly  strengthened  if  he  can  converse  on  other 
matters  of  interest  besides  the  school.  It  is  no 
compliment  to  teachers  that  so  many  people  feel 
that  they  must  introduce  school  topics  when  they 
meet  teachers  in  a  social  way.  But  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  the  habit  has  grown  up  because  so 
many  teachers  have  been  found  unable  to  talk  in- 
telligently about  any  thing  else. 


208  Pedagogy. 


Second,  The  teacher  should  be  able  to  induce  the 
parents  to  visit  the  school  and  to  observe  its  opera- 
tions. Sometimes  a  cordial  invitation  will  be  all 
that  is  necessary.  But,  if  a  simple  invitation  does 
not  accomplish  the  result,  other  ways  can  be  found. 
One  of  the  simplest  is  to  set  apart  a  special  time, — 
say  Friday  afternoon, — for  some  kind  of  an  exhibi- 
tion. No  attempt  should  be  made  to  turn  the 
school  into  a  small  theater ;  let  the  programme  con- 
sist largely  of  readings,  compositions,  and  such 
other  exercises  as  are  proper  to  the  regular  work 
of  the  school.  But  let  the  exercises  be  carefully 
chosen,  well  prepared,  and  of  a  sufficient  variety  to 
bring  out  most  or  all  of  the  pupils.  The  child  who 
is  to  have  a  part  in  an  exercise  on  such  an  occasion 
is  very  likely  to  issue  an  invitation  that  will  bring 
the  mother  at  least.  And  the  exercises  may  be  so 
conducted  as  to  exhibit  very  effectually  the  spirit, 
methods,  and  general  progress  of  the  school. 

To  THE  PEOPLE. — The  teacher,  especially  in  a 
country  district,  should  be  a  person  of  influence  in 
the  community.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
people  often  need  instruction  in  matters  pertaining 
to  education.  Who  should  be  more  competent  for 
this  than  the  teacher?  Let  him  be  careful,  how- 
ever, that  he  does  not  attempt  it  in  any  offensive 
way. 

On  the  occasion  of  such  a  school  exhibition  as 
we  have  recommended,  a  short  talk  or  paper  from 
the  teacher  may  do  much ;  or  he  may  get  the 
people  to  meet  for  a  discussion  of  educational  topics 


Miscellaneous.  209 


in  the  long  winter  evenings.  Such  meetings  might 
be  quite  informal,  and  they  might  include  several 
features  of  a  literary  and  social  kind.  Skill  in  the 
teacher  to  inaugurate  and  assist  in  such  gatherings 
will  do  much  to  increase  his  influence,  as  well  as  to 
benefit  the  community. 

Let  him  write  for  the  county  or  village  paper. 
If  his  articles  are  thoughtful,  and  are  well  prepared, 
editors  will  gladly  give  them  a  place,  and  they  will 
be  eagerly  read.  The  newspaper  is  one  of  the 
most  potent  factors  in  shaping  the  thought  of  a 
community. 

We  have  hinted  at  one  of  the  ways  in  which  a 
teacher  may  do  something  for  the  intellectual  im- 
provement of  the  people  among  whom  he  labors. 
He  may  assist  in  other  improvements,  also,  such  as 
the  founding  and  promoting  of  libraries,  lecture 
courses,  etc.  Nor  should  he  be  backward  in  regard 
to  physical  improvements  that  will  tend  to  beautify 
a  village  or  a  district, — such  as  planting  trees,  etc. 
A  wide-awake,  intelligent,  active  teacher  may 
leave  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory,  in  the 
neighborhood  where  he  works,  by  such  means  as 
these. 

Nor  should  he  be  ignorant  or  indifferent  about 
the  business  affairs  which  are  so  essential  to  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  community.  Nothing 
will  raise  him  more  in  the  estimation  of  practical 
men  than  to  find  that  he  has  an  intelligent  interest 
in  business  affairs.  At  the  same  time,  it  will  save 
him  from  shriveling  up  into  a  "mere  pedagogue." 

Ped.-18. 


2 1  o  Pedagogy. 


Neither  should  he  be  a  cipher  in  religious  and 
political  matters.  Not  that  he  should  be  a  noisy 
partisan ;  but  it  will  generally  be  found  that  a 
teacher  who  has  convictions  on  such  subjects,  and 
who  takes  a  manly  stand  according  to  his  convic- 
tions, will  receive  more  respect,  even  from  those 
not  of  his  sect  or  party,  than  one  who  is  indifferent, 
or  who  attempts  to  identify  himself  with  all  parties. 
The  teacher  should  be  a  Christian  and  a  patriot ; 
but  most  Christians  find  it  best  to  identify  them- 
selves with  some  denomination,  and  most  patriots 
belong  to  some  political  party.  There  is  no  good 
reason  why  the  teacher  should  be  an  exception. 

In  short,  the  teacher  should  be  a  man  among 
men, — intelligent,  earnest,  and  active  in  the  things 
that  claim  the  attention  of  other  good  and  influen- 
tial men.  What  is  said  here,  with  some  necessary 
changes,  will  apply  just  as  well  to  the  teacher  who 
is  a  woman  as  to  a  man. 

The  "New"  Education.— Of  late,  it  has  be- 
come common  to  hear,  or  to  read,  the  phrase 
"new  education."  What  does  it  mean?  Strictly 
speaking,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  new  edu- 
cation. Education  is  the  same  thing  in  all  the 
ages ;  its  principles  are  unchanging ;  and  its  methods 
must  conform  to  these  principles,  if  they  are  right 
methods,  however  they  may  vary  in  form. 

The  most  marked  feature  of  what  is  called  the 
new  education  is  its  regard  to  the  principles  of 
child-nature.  It  insists  that  the  teacher  shall  study 
the  nature,  the  capacity,  and  the  tendencies  of  the 


Miscellaneous.  2 1  r 


child,  and  shall  adapt  the  work  of  instruction  ac- 
cordingly, instead  of  giving  all  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject-matter to  be  taught,  or  attempting  to  teach 
according  to  preconceived  notions  of  what  the  child 
needs  and  can  do.  This  is  what  Garfield  meant 
when  he  said,  "The  teacher  should  study  the  boy 
more  than  the  book." 

Another  principle  of  the  "new"  education  is 
that  it  seeks  to  make  the  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
and  all  the  work  of  the  school,  agreeable  to  the 
pupil.  The  human  mind  naturally  craves  knowl- 
edge, and  its  acquisition  gives  the  highest  pleasure, 
but  it  must  be  real  knowledge, — not  its  semblance, 
symbols,  or  husks.  It  is  believed  that  the  work  of 
the  school  may  be  so  conducted  that  the  pupil  may 
realize  at  all  times  that  his  store  of  knowledge  is 
increasing,  that  his  powers  are  strengthening,  and 
that  he  may  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  his  growth. 
This  is  a  worthy  aim,  and  the  teacher  can  hardly 
regard  it  too  highly. 

Yet,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  giving  of 
pleasure  to  the  pupils  should  be  made  the  ultimate 
or  only  test  in  estimating  the  character  of  school 
work.  In  life,  duty  often  imposes  upon  us  tasks 
that  are  not  wholly  agreeable,  although  their  ac- 
complishment may  bring  the  highest  pleasure.  It 
may  well  be  asked  whether  school  should  not  train 
us  to  meet  and  to  do  bravely  just  such  tasks  ? 

It  is  sometimes  asked  whether  a  teacher  should 
join  freely  in  the  sports  and  games  of  his  pupils? 
To  our  mind,  the  answer  is  clearly  in  the  affirma- 


2 1 2  Pedagogy. 

live.  Such  a  course,  if  judiciously  followed,  will 
benefit  the  pupil ;  it  may  improve  the  character  of 
his  sports;  it  may  prevent  evils  that  would  other- 
wise infest  the  playground ;  it  will  cement  the  bond 
of  union  and  sympathy  between  him  and  his 
teacher.  It  will  benefit  the  teacher  by  bringing 
him  into  a  closer  sympathy  with  his  pupils;  it  will 
help  him  to  keep  from  growing  old  before  his  time ; 
it  will  give  him  a  better  insight  into  the  personal 
characteristics  of  his  pupils  than  any  thing  else. 
But  he  must  join  in  the  sports  as  an  equal;  he 
must  not,  by  the  assumption  of  a  dictatorial  man- 
ner, make  his  presence  on  the  playground  disagree- 
able ;  furthermore,  it  is  important  that  he  should 
be  able  to  play  well  any  game  in  which  he  may 
join.  If  it  be  objected  that  his  dignity  will  suffer 
from  his  joining  in  the  pupils'  plays,  we  have  only 
to  say  that  a  dignity  which  can  not  bear  the  test 
of  the  playground  must  be  of  the  artificial  or  false 
kind.  True  dignity  means  genuine  worth  shown  in 
a  worthy  way. 

Apparatus. — Every  school  should  be  supplied 
with  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  proper  work  of 
illustration,  but  many  schools  are  wofully  lacking  in 
this  regard.  And,  if  nothing  can  be  used  as  ap- 
paratus but  such  as  is  highly  finished,  and  sold  in 
the  markets,  the  cost  is  no  small  drawback  to  its 
supply.  But  an  ingenious  teacher  will  find  means 
to  illustrate  without  being  wholly  dependent  on  the 
costly  apparatus  of  the  shop ;  kernels  of  corn,  or 
beans,  or  pebbles  may  take  the  place  of  the  nu- 


Miscellaneous.  213 


meral  frame ;  a  pumpkin,  of  a  globe,  etc.  A  little 
home-made  apparatus  may  answer  nearly  all  pur- 
poses in  physics,  also.  All  such  apparatus  has  one 
decided  advantage, — the  pupil's  attention  is  less 
likely  to  be  arrested  by  the  apparatus  itself;  its  use 
as  a  means  to  something  beyond  itself  is  less  likely 
to  be  hidden.  For  instance,  the  pupil  is  in  less 
danger  of  thinking  that  his  combinations  of  num- 
bers are  confined  to  the  numeral  frame,  if  he  learns 
the  same  combinations  by  the  use  of  common 
objects. 

Marking. — Few  topics  connected  with  the  work 
of  the  school  have  been  more  discussed  of  late  than 
the  "  marking  system."  Much  has  been  uttered  in 
the  way  of  bitter  criticism  of  it.  It  is  not  said 
directly  that  schools  would  be  better  without  any 
careful  record  of  the  attendance,  deportment,  and 
scholarship  of  the  pupils ;  but  that  seems  to  be  a 
fair  inference,  if  what  is  charged  to  the  "system" 
necessarily  belongs  to  it,  and  not  simply  to  the 
abuse  of  it. 

By  the  marking  system,  a  deliberate  record  is 
made  of  the  attendance,  deportment,  and  recitations 
of  the  pupils ;  it  is  a  record  of  facts  as  they  trans- 
pire, or  of  the  teacher's  judgments  made  at  a  time 
when  there  is  the  least  occasion  for  mistake, — that 
is,  when  the  matter  is  freshest  in  his  mind. 

ATTENDANCE. — In  respect  to  attendance,  the  mark- 
ing should  be  simply  a  record  of  facts.  The  pupil 
is  present  or  he  is  absent, — he  is  tardy  or  he  is  not. 
This  the  marks  should  show,  and  this  alone.  No 


214  Pedagogy. 


account  must  be  taken  of  any  reasons  for  absence 
or  tardiness, — these  can  not  affect  the  facts  of  his 
attendance,  but  may  properly  affect  his  deportment 
record. 

DEPORTMENT. — Here  the  marks  should  be  a  rec- 
ord of  the  teacher's  opinion  concerning  the  pupil's 
merits  or  demerits,  made  at  the  time  of  the  trans- 
actions by  which  his  standing  is  affected.  It  is  not 
easy  to  see  how  such  a  record  can  be  an  evil,  nor 
how  any  thing  better  can  be  substituted  for  it. 
The  teacher  will  have  an  opinion  about  the  pupil's 
deportment,  and  the  degrees  of  its  worthiness  or 
unworthiness,  and  he  will  sometimes  be  called  on 
to  express  that  opinion.  How  can  such  an  opinion 
be  made  up  better  than  from  the  average  of  daily 
records  ? 

SCHOLARSHIP. — The  statements  last  made  will  apply 
with  equal  force  to  the  teacher's  opinions  respect- 
ing the  scholarship  of  his  pupil.  But  it  may  not 
always  be  clear,  even  in  the  teacher's  mind,  exactly 
what  the  scholarship  mark  should  show.  Negatively, 
it  can  not  show  the  pupil's  disposition  towards 
study ;  it  can  not  show  the  degree  of  effort  he  has 
put  forth ;  it  can  not  show  absolutely  how  much  he 
may  know  about  the  study  in  question.  It  should 
be  simply  the  written  record  of  the  teacher's  esti- 
mate concerning  the  relative  success  of  the  pupil's 
efforts  at  reciting  on  the  given  topics.  We  say  the 
teacher's  estimate,  for  we  regard  "self-reporting" 
of  either  scholarship  or  deportment  as  unworthy  of 
serious  discussion. 


Miscellaneous.  2  i  5 


Now,  we  fail  to  see  the  force  of  the  objections 
urged  against  a  written  record  of  these  things.  It 
is  said  that  marking  takes  much  time ;  but  this  ob- 
jection is  not  pertinent,  if  it  is  worth  the  time  it 
takes.  When  a  pupil  recites,  the  teacher  forms 
some  opinion  of  his  performance  as  it  goes  on. 
Why  may  not  that  opinion  be  formed  on  a  numeri- 
cal scale?  And  how  long  will  it  take  to  write  the 
figure  to  express  it  ?  It  is  said  that  the  pupil  is 
led  to  work  for  marks.  Is  that  not  better  than  to 
have  no  motive  prompting  him  to  work  ?  It  is  not 
the  highest  motive ;  but  why  need  it  prevent  higher 
motives  from  operating  in  cases  where  higher  mo- 
tives have  any  influence?  Or,  shall  we  discard  all 
motives  but  the  very  noblest?  It  is  said  that  the 
marks  are  not  always  just.  This  is  what  we  should 
expect  so  long  as  the  teachers  are  fallible.  But 
will  the  fallible  teacher,  in  the  absence  of  a  daily 
record,  be  likely  to  reach  conclusions  that  will  be 
more  just?  It  seems  to  us  that  any  valid  strictures 
on  marking  must  pertain  to  the  abuse  of  the  sys- 
tem, or  to  the  inherent  weakness  of  the  teacher, 
rather  than  to  the  system  itself. 

We  shall  not  try  to  indicate  the  best  methods  of 
marking ;  we  shall  not  discuss  the  question  whether 
the  pupils  should  be  allowed  to  see  their  marks; 
nor  shall  we  discuss  the  proper  and  improper  uses 
to  be  made  of  the  marks.  But  we  believe  that,  if 
the  true  meaning  of  each  kind  of  marking  is  kept 
clearly  in  view,  if  the  record  is  carefully  and  con- 
scientiously made,  the  marks  will  serve  very  valu- 


2  J  6  Pedagogy. 


able  purposes ;  and  that  it  is  not  possible  to  find 
any  adequate  substitute  for  them. 

Religious  Exercises. — We  believe  it  to  be  very 
desirable  that  a  school  should  be  opened  by  re- 
ligious exercises  when  they  are  genuine,  and  when 
they  can  be  had  without  controversy.  But  we 
should  much  regret  to  see  them  prescribed  by  law, 
quite  as  much  as  we  should  regret  to  see  them  for- 
bidden by  law.  Most  of  our  states  leave  the  ques- 
tion to  be  decided  by  the  local  authorities ;  and,  in 
our  opinion,  this  is  just  where  it  ought  to  be  left. 
We  think,  also,  that  any  teacher  who  prizes  such 
exercises,  and  who  is  allowed  to  have  them,  will 
make  a  great  mistake  if  he  compel  any  pupil  to 
take  part  in  them,  or  even  to  be  present,  against 
his  own  will  or  the  expressed  will  of  his  parent  or 
guardian.  Religious  performances  that  are  forced, 
or  are  merely  perfunctory,  have  no  value  that  we 
can  estimate.* 

Primary  Teaching. — There  is  some  reason  to 
hope  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  no  intelli- 
gent person  will  say,  "Oh,  any  body  can  teach 
little  children."  We  believe  the  opinion  is  gaining 
ground  among  our  people  that  the  primary  schools 
require  the  very  best  teaching  talent,  and  the  most 


*"It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Church  may  yet  see  formal,  religious 
instruction,  even  to  the  ceremony  of  reading  the  Bible,  leave  the  com- 
mon schools  altogether.  Whenever  the  reading  of  the  Bible  '  without 
note  or  comment,1  or  the  formal  prayer  on  opening  school,  is  merely 
perfunctory,  it  is  surely  not  moral  instruction,  nor  even  religious  instruc- 
tion, in  any  efficient  sense." — W.  T.  Harris. 


Miscellanea  us.  217 


careful  preparation,  and  that  successful  teaching  in 
such  schools  is  entitled  to  receive  the  highest  com- 
pensation. Nowhere  else  is  it  more  disastrous  to 
attempt  to  build  on  a  poor  foundation  than  in  edu- 
cation ;  and  nowhere  else  are  the  results  of  bad 
work  at  the  foundation  more  certainly  without 
remedy.  In  no  other  stage  of  the  work  can  the 
principles  of  sound  pedagogy  be  violated  with  so 
great  damage.  Nowhere  else  in  the  work  are  the 
pupils  so  open  to  personal  influences,  and  in  no 
other  stage  of  the  work  are  the  teaching  influences 
so  exclusively  personal.  In  the  primary  schools  is 
the  place  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  sound  charac- 
ter, no  less  than  the  foundations  of  a  sound  in- 
tellectual culture.  And  people  are  coming  to  feel 
more  and  more  that  a  sound  character  is  the  great 
outcome  of  a  good  education.  On  all  accounts, 
then,  the  primary  schools  demand  and  should  re- 
ceive the  most  careful  attention. 

Teaching,  a  Profession. — Teaching  can  never 
become  a  profession  in  the  same  strict  sense  as  law 
or  medicine,  so  long  as  the  majority  of  our  schools 
are  in  session  but  for  a  few  months  in  the  year,  and 
pay  such  small  wages  to  the  teacher;  nor  so  long 
as  the  oversight  of  the  work  is  committed  to  per- 
sons outside  of  the  profession ;  nor  so  long  as  the 
majority  of  teachers  follow  the  employment  for  a 
few  years  only.  But  the  time  may  come  when  the 
person  who  makes  teaching  a  life-work,  and  who 
brings  to  it  the  talent,  energy,  and  special  prepara- 
tion which  other  professions  demand,  will  receive 

Fed.— 19. 


2 1 8  Pedagogy. 


all  the  respect  and  deference  that  are  considered 
due  to  the  members  of  other  professions. 

How  soon  this  time  shall  arrive  depends  chiefly 
on  teachers  themselves, — there  is  no  conspiracy  on 
the  part  of  the  people  to  keep  teachers  below  the 
position  to  which  their  worth  entitles  them.  And 
it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  every  teacher  to  make  his 
full  contribution  to  the  sum  of  influences  that  shall 
raise  teaching  to  the  height  it  ought  to  occupy  by 
virtue  of  its  transcendent  importance. 

Principles. — In  closing,  we  will  present  a  few 
important  principles  in  a  compact,  aphoristic  form : 
I.  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES: 

1.  Education    is   a   development;     it    is,    in    no 
sense,   a  creation. 

2.  Any  human  power  that  is  under  the  control 
of  the  will  can  be  educated. 

3.  There   is   only   one   way   of   developing    any 
human    power;    viz.,   by  wise  use,   or   self-activity. 

4.  Self-activity    in    education    has    two    phases; 
viz.,    First,    From    without,    inward, — receptive    and 
acquisitive;    Second,    From    within,    outward, — pro- 
ductive and  expressive. 

5.  The    receptive    and    the    productive    phases 
should  go  together  in  all  the  work  of  education. 

6.  Self-control  is  the  proper  outcome  of  educa- 
tion ;  /.  e. ,   self-control  of  the  hands  (the  body),  of 
the  head  (the  intellect),  of  the  heart  (the  affections, 
wishes,   and  purposes). 

7.  It  is  a  general  law  that  desire  precedes  acqui- 
sition. 


Miscellaneous.  2 1 9 


8.  Learning,  or  knowledge,  is  the  mind's  food  ; 
but   food    strengthens    only   as    it    is    digested    and 
assimilated. 

9.  No  progress  in  education  is  possible  without 
attention. 

10.  In  education,  nothing  is  really  ours  till  it  has 
become  habitual  to  us. 

11.  In  all  the  work  of  education,  the  habits  that 
are  formed  are  more  important  than  the  knowledge 
gained. 

12.  Human  powers  develop  naturally  in  a  certain 
order,   which  should  be  followed  in  education. 

13.  The  law  of  correlation  holds  with  intellectual 
and  moral  forces  no  less  than  with  physical  forces ; 
forces  may  be  transferred  or  transmuted, — they  are 
never  lost. 

14.  A  true  scheme  of  education  must  aim  at  and 
include    three    things;    viz.,     Knowledge,     develop- 
ment,  and  efficiency. 

15.  A    general    education,    whose    object    is    the 
making  of   true   manhood    or   womanhood,    should 
precede  a  special    education,   whose  object  is  to  fit 
for  some  art,    trade,   or  occupation.      Or, 

1 6.  The  primary  object  of   education  is  the  per- 
fection of  the  individual. 

17.  The  school  is  responsible  for  a  part  only  of 
the  child's  education  ;    the  pedagogue  is  co-worker 
with  the  parent,  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and  the  peo- 
ple.     In   other   words,    the   school,    the   home,    the 
church,    the    printed    page,    and    society, — all   take 
part  in  the  training  of  the  rising  generation. 


22O  Pedagogy. 


II.   SPECIAL  PRINCIPLES: 

1.  The  work  of    education  should  be  suited    to 
the  pupil's  stage  of  development. 

2.  With  very    young  children,   train  chiefly  the 
senses  and  the  power  of  expression. 

3.  With  young  children,  in  all  their  school  ex- 
ercises,   something  should  be  given  them  to  do. 

4.  With    young    children,    the    progress   should 
always  be  from  the  known  to  the  unknown, 

5.  With    young    children,    the    concrete   should 
precede  the  abstract. 

6.  With   young  children,    the   particular  should 
precede  the  general. 

7.  With    young    children,   give  always  the  idea 
before  the  word, — the  thing  before  its  symbol. 

8.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  confound  things 
with  their  symbols;    the  danger  of  this  is  greatest 
with  young  children,  but  it  is  not  confined  to  them. 

9.  False    forms    should    never    be    put    before 
young  children  for  correction ;    such  false  forms  as 
they  make   should  be  removed  as   quickly  and  as 
quietly  as  possible. 

10.  Early    youth    is    the    best    time    to    commit 
things  to  memory, — to   "store  the  mind." 

11.  It  is  well   for  youth  to   commit  to  memory 
some  good  things  not  yet  fully  comprehended. 

12.  Begin    where    the    child   is;    all   attempts   to 
teach  little  children  will   be   futile  or  worse,   unless 
they  are  adapted    to  the  present  state  of   the   chil- 
dren's   minds,     as     regards     both    knowledge    and 
strength. 


INDEX. 


Abstracting,  illustrated, 22 

Accuracy,  habit  of,          .         .         .         .         .         .         .  1 1 1 

Activity,  mental  and  brain,  distinguished      ...  34 

Admiration,  use  and  abuse  of, 64 

Aid  to  pupils  in  recitation,  wrong,       .         .         .         .  171 

Air,  good,  essential  to  health, 100 

Algebra,  suggestions  on  teaching,         ....  198 

Alphabet,  how  learned  properly,           .         .         .         .  185 

Aphoristic  Principles 218 

Apparatus,  how  obtained, 120 

Apparatus,   simple, 212 

Aptness  to  teach, 98 

Arithmetic,  suggestions  on  teaching,    ....  197 

Arithmetic  takes  too  much  time,          ....  195 

Arithmetic,  why  poorly  taught, 195 

Assigning  lessons, 163 

Assigning  lessons,  teacher's  problem  in,     .        .         .  166 

Assigning  topics  in  recitation, 175 

Attention,  defined, 34 

Attention,  how  trained, 72 

Attention,  illustrated, 35 

Attention,  questions  concerning,  discussed,         .         .  35 

Attention,  two  ways  of  gaining,  .....  72 

Beauty,  intuitive  idea  of,  denned,        ....  27 

Being,  intuitive  idea  of,  denned,          ....  26 

Best  Methods, 44 

(221) 


222 


Index. 


PAGE 

Cause  and  occasion,  distinguished 27 

Cause,  intuitive  idea  of,  defined,          .         .         .         .  27 

Cheerfulness,  moral  habit  of, 114 

Child-nature    must  be  studied, 46 

Children,  little,  their  proper  work,         .         .         .         .  47 

Children,  neglected,  kindergartens  for,         ...  78 

Chills,  their  effect  on  health, 102 

Classes,  size  of, .         .  133 

Classes,  too  many  in  school, 134 

Classifying,  advantages  of, 129 

Classifying,  how  it  should  be  done 135 

Classifying,  true  and  false  bases  of,    .         .         .         .  134 

Cleanliness,  why  essential  to  health,   ....  102 

Concentration,  habit  of, in 

Conceptive  Power,  defined, 36 

Conceptive  Power,  uses  of,  . 74 

Conscience,  defined, 31 

Conscience,  how  trained, 67 

Conscience,  its  action  always  the  same,      ...  32 

Conscience  should  be  followed, 68 

Consciousness  always  accompanies  mental  activity,  .  34 

Consciousness,  defined,          ......  34 

Custom,  a  good  old  one, 65 

Development  of  mental  powers,  stages  of,  .         .         .  46 

Direction,  how  taught, 200 

Drawing,  suggestions  on  teaching,       ....  191 

Dress,  its  purposes  and  abuses, 108 

Drilling  in  classes, 163 

Education  and  Learning,  not  the  same,      ...  39 

Education  can  not  create, 42 

Education,  definitions  of,      ......  4° 

Education,  four  kinds  of,  defined,         .         .         .         .  75 

Education,  general,  defined, 43 

Education,  inevitable, .  77 


Index.  223 


PAGE 

Education,  physical, 76 

Education  requires  time, 43 

Education,  special,  defined,           .....  42 

Education,  "the  new,"  what  it  is,                 .         .         .  210 

Education,  the  state  should  provide,  ....  78 

Equilibrium  of  bodily  temperature 101 

Exercise  essential  to  health,          .....  103 

Exercise  should  have  an  object,           ....  103 

Exercises,  religious,  in  school, 216 

Eye,  the  teacher's, 142 

Faculty,  a  mental,  defined 33 

Figures  instead  of  numbers, 195 

First  day's  work  in  school, 123 

Food,  remarks  as  to  kind  and  quantity  of,         .         .  104 

Form,  a  proper  study  for  children,      ....  199 

Free  conference  in  oral  teaching,         .         .         .         .  177 

Furniture  of  the  school-house, 119 

Generalizing,  defined, 23 

Geography,  elementary, 200 

Geography,  suggestions  on  teaching,    .         .                  .  202 

Geography,  why  poorly  taught, 200 

Geometry,  suggestions  on  teaching,      ....  199 

Government,  advantages  of  good,  in  school,       .         .  144 

Government,  a  means,  not  an  end H9 

Government,  defined, H2 

Government,  its  purposes,     .         .                  .         .         .  H3 

Government,  without  personal  feeling,  143 

Graded  schools, 13& 

Grammar,  often  poorly  taught, 193 

Grammar,  technical, J94 

Grounds,  school, ll% 

Habits,  defined, 107 

Habits,  education  is  to  form  them,      ....  107 


224  Index. 


PAGE 

Habits,  their  use  and  danger, 108 

Hate,  right  use  of, 63 

Hearing,  how  deadened,  in  school,     ....  54 

Hearing,  how  trained,  .......  54 

Hearing  lessons, 169 

High  Schools,  public,  argument  for,    ....  79 

History,  suggestions  on  teaching,          ....  203 

Honor,  false  code  of,  in  schools,          .        .        .        .  114 

Identity,  personal,  intuitive  idea  of,  defined,       .         .  28 

Imagination,  active  in  children, 59 

Imagination,  defined 19 

Imagination,  uses  of, 60 

Independence  in  recitation, 171 

Instruction,  oral,    ........  176 

Instruction  should  be  given, 161 

Intellect,  the,  four  forms,  defined,        .         .         .         .  15 

Intellectual  powers,  the  work  of  each,         ...  28 

"Issues"  to  be  avoided, 155 

Judging,  defined,   , 22 

Justice,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,      .         .         .         115,  153 

Kindergarten,  the, 49,  78 

Kindness,  moral  habit  of, 114 

Language  Lessons, 193 

Lessons,  hearing, 169 

Lessons  must  be  definite, 166 

Lessons  must  not  be  too  long 164 

Lessons  must  not  be  too  short, 165 

Love  in  the  child  must  be  cultivated,          .        .  62 

Lying,  indirect, 113 

Management  in  school,  importance  of,                 .         .  141 

Management,  twelve  principles  of,                .         .         .  156 


Index.  225 


PAGE 

Man's  nature  and  powers 10 

Maps,  their  use,  how  taught, 201 

Marking  pupils,  explained,    .         .         .         .         .         .  213 

Master,  the  teacher  must  be 149 

Memory,  defined, 18 

Memory,  how  trained, 57 

Memory,  neglect  of, 58 

Mental  powers,  grand  divisions  of n 

Mental  powers,  their  action  illustrated,         .         .         .  13 

Method,  a,  of  teaching  primary  reading,     .         .         .  183 

Methods  and  Principles, 89 

Mind,  the,  a  unit, II 

Moral  training,  how  given,  ......  69 

Morality,  defined, 114 

Morality,  its  psychological  elements 69 

Names  of  pupils,  how  learned, 127 

Names  of  pupils,  how  taken, 126 

"New  Education,"  the, 210 

Normal  schools,  their  purpose, 87 

Numbers,  elementary,  how  taught 196 

Offenses  in  school,  two  classes  of,                .         .         .  152 

Oral  instruction, 176 

Order  of  questioning  a  class, 174 

Organization,  meaning  of  the  word,    .         .         .         .  122 

Ornaments,  sham, 109 

Parents,  do  they  care  for  their  children  ?   .  86 

Pay  of  the  teacher,  difficulty  of  estimating,         .         .  84 

Pay  of  the  teacher,  its  amount, 84 

Pedagogy,  defined, 9 

Pensions  to  teachers,  not  desirable,     ....  85 

People,  the,  make  the  school, 205 

Phonic  elements,  how  taught, 185 

Pictures,  their  use, 51 


226  Index. 


PAGE 

Playing  with  pupils, 21 1 

Position  and  movement  of  teacher  and  pupils,  ,         .  no 

Powers,  mental,  are  they  good  or  bad  ?  37 

Preparation  of  teachers,  neglected,      ....  86 

Preparation  of  the  teacher  consists  in  what  ?  88 

Presentative  powers,  why  so  called 15 

Primary  teaching,  the  most  important,         .         .         .  216 

Principles,  four  fundamental,        .         .         .         .         .  45 

Principles  of  education, 218 

Principles  of  management,   .         ...         .         .         .  156 

Profession  of  teaching 217 

Programme,  hints  on  making 137 

Programme,  its  value  in  school,  .         .         .         .         .  136 

Progress  of  the  teacher,  how  attained,         ...  91 

Promptness  in  hearing  lessons, 169 

Proposition,  the,  and  its  parts,  defined,       ...  23 

Punctuation,  no  direct  guide  in  reading,    .         .         .  186 

Punishment,  corporal,  cautions  concerning,         .         .  148 

Punishment,  corporal,  defended,          ....  146 

Punishment,  defined, 145 

Punishments,  improper,         ......  146 

Questioning  pupils, 173 

Raising  hands  in  recitation, 172 

Rapidity,  habit  of, 112 

Reading,  defined, 181 

Reading,  primary,  how  taught,     .         .  *                .         .  183 

Reading,  suggestions  on  teaching,        .         .         .         .  186 

Reason,  natural,  defined, 28 

Reasoning,  defined  and  illustrated,      ....  24 

Recitation,  defined, 159 

Recitation,  a,  includes  what? 1 60 

Records  to  be  kept, 123 

Reflective  Power,  forms  of, 21 

Reflective  Power,  misused, 61 

Relation  of  the  teacher  to  parents,       ....  206 


Index.  227 


TAC;E 

Relation  of  the  teacher  to  the  people,         .         .         .  208 

Relation  of  the  teacher  to  school  officers,           .         .  206 

Religious  exercises  in  school, 216 

Responsibilities  of  the  teacher, 98 

Reverence  to  be  cultivated, 65 

Reviewing,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  162 

Right,  intuitive  idea  of,  defined, 27 

Rigidness  in  hearing  lessons, 170 

Rules  for  reading, — their  use  and  abuse,    .         .        .  186 

Rules  for  spelling .190 

Rules  in  school,  objections  to  many,  .         .         .         .  150 

Rules  in  school,  when  proper, 153 

School,  the,  should  be  made  pleasant,         .         .         .  211 

School-house,  the,  its  cleanliness,         .         .         .         .  121 

School-house,  the,  its  condition, 121 

School-house,  the,  its  situation,    ,         .         .         .         .  117 

School-house,  the,  its  structure, 118 

Script  should  be  taught  first, 183 

Sense,  a  sixth,  defined, 17 

Senses,  the  five,  defined, 16 

Sensibility,  the,  its  forms  defined,        ....  30 

Sight,  exercises  to  train  the, 52 

Sight,  training  of,  by  pictures, 51 

Sight,  training  of,  in  school, 51 

Sight,  training  of,  out-of-doors, 49 

Signals  in  school, 124 

Singing,  suggestions  on  teaching,         .         .         .         .  191 

Sleep,  danger  from  loss  of, 105 

Sleep,  its  relation  to  health, 105 

Space,  intuitive  idea  of,  defined, 26 

Spelling,  rules  for, 190 

Spelling-book,  not  necessary, 189 

Standing  to  recite, 17° 

Study  promotes  long  life, 94 

System,  the  marking,  discussed, 213 


228 


Index. 


Tact,  wanting  in  a  teacher, 

Teacher  and  pupil,  their  relation  illustrated, 

Teacher,  the,  can  "afford"  to  progress,     . 

Teacher,  the,  he  should  govern  himself,     . 

Teacher,  the,  his  habits, 

Teacher,  the,  his  importance, 

Teacher,  the,  his  motives, 

Teacher,  the,  his  preparation,       .  . 

Teacher,  the,  his  responsibility, 

Teacher,  the,  his  various  relations,      .. 

Teacher,  the,  must  make  progress,      .         . 

Teacher,  the,  should  attend   meetings,         . 

Teacher,  the,  should  be  a  model,         .. 

Teacher,  the,  should  be  a  student,       .. 

Teacher,  the,  should  teach  the  community, 

Teacher's  health,  how  to  keep  it,         .. 

Teacher's  health,  its  importance,          .. 

Teacher's  pay,  reasons  for  it,        .         .         . 

Teaching,  a  profession, 

Teaching,  primary,  its  importance,       .         . 

Teasing,  not  necessary 

Tell,  teach,  and  train,  their  meaning,          . 

Testing  in  a  class, 

Thoroughness,  habit  of, 

Time,  intuitive  idea  of,  defined, 

Training,  defined  and  illustrated,         .         . 

Training,  moral, 

Truthfulness,  the  basis  of  morality,     .         . 

Truths,  axiomatic,  defined, 

Ventilation  of  school-houses,         .         .         . 

Voice,  the  teacher's, 

Will,  the,  defined, 

Will,  the,  how  trained, 

Will,  the,  should  it  be  "broken?"      .         . 

Writing  should  be  taught  early, 

Writing,  suggestions  on  teaching, 


PAGE 

I  10 

41 

93 
155 
107 
81 
81 
86 
98 
206 
90 
93 
97 
91 

93 
99 
99 
82 

92,  217 
216 

154 
129 
160 

112 

26 

130 

69,  131 

113,  153 

25 

101,  1 19 

141 

32 
70 

71 

183 
187 


50m-7,'16 


04630 


